McInnes on Chesnokov, contract talks & January window

[ASFN Admin]

Hearts head coach Derek McInnes has been speaking to the media as his side prepare for Saturday's game against Falkirk.

Here are the main points:

• McInnes says the win away to Celtic last weekend "reinforces my confidence in the squad."
• Hearts have now beaten Celtic twice, Rangers, Hibs and Aberdeen this season and McInnes takes "a lot of comfort" from their performances in the big games where "there's a bit more expected of you and the opponents have been really tough".
• Hearts are still going through the visa process for pre-contract signing Islam Chesnokov but hope the Kazakhstan forward will arrive in Scotland "in the next week or so" before officially joining on 1 January.
• Players including Cammy Devlin, Beni Baningime and Stuarty Findlay are out of contract next summer and McInnes says there is "constant dialogue" over new deals.
• He adds: "There's been a lot of conversations had over the last few months. We're just trying to make some headway with a few things. I'm confident we'll get some good news on one or two, but there's nothing certain for that at the minute."
• McInnes is hopeful Devlin will extend his Tynecastle stay and praises the Australia midfielder's improvement this season, saying he is delivering "a lot more maturity in his performances, a lot more leadership on the pitch".
• With Hearts utilising Jamestown Analytics for recruitment, McInnes insists he always has the "final say" on signings and contract offers.
• He adds: "But obviously, it's well documented players have got ratings, so I can't just pick a player and say I want to sign him if it doesn't marry up with Jamestown's ratings."
• McInnes is looking to bring in "one or two" players during the January transfer window and says: "Sometimes when your results aren't there, you're a bit busy in January, which is a window where it's traditionally tough to get improvements. But we're top of the league, we've got a squad, we've still got one or two to come back, o we won't be as busy as maybe some people think. But we are looking to maybe be quite specific on one or two."
• On Falkirk, McInnes says John McGlynn has "imposed himself on the whole club" and they've been a "great addition" to the Premiership.

You must be registered for see images

Continue reading...