The boss reckons that Kilmarnock have one gripe they can level at himDarren Johnstone and Mark Pirie Assistant Live Sports Editor
04:00, 16 Oct 2025
Heart of Midlothian Head Coach Derek McInnes (Image: SNS Group)
Derek McInnes insists the only thing he was guilty of at Kilmarnock is wanting to speak to Hearts.
And the Jambos gaffer feels he can walk back into Rugby Park on Saturday with his head held high after guiding Killie to the Championship title and then into Europe.
Some Kilmarnock fans might think differently as McInnes prepares to return to Ayrshire for the first time since leaving for Hearts during the summer.
But the 54-year-old, who said earlier this week he was committed to league leaders Hearts after being linked with the vacancy Rangers, is proud of his achievements at his old club.
He said: “The only thing I was guilty of was wanting to speak to Hearts.
“I don’t make any apologies for that. I know supporters don’t like to hear that.
“I always felt this was a club that felt a good fit. “When it was indicated to me Hearts were keen to speak, I said to my agent, I said to the club, I said to (Kille owner) Billy Bowie, I’m going to make sure Kilmarnock are safe first before I even have any conversations with Hearts. That’s how it was.
“I genuinely was trying to do the right thing but I feel good about that. I did the right thing by the club.
“We managed to make sure we stayed up with a couple of games to go then I had the opportunity to speak to Hearts.”
Killie were trailing Arbroath in a second tier title fight when McInnes succeeded Tommy Wright in January 2022 – ten months after leaving Aberdeen.
And after taking the club back to the top-flight, he then secured Europa League football with a fourth place finish in 2024.
McInnes is adamant he can look back on his time there with pride.
He added: “There was work to be done at Kilmarnock. It was a club sitting fourth in the table, the home record was poor.
“There were a lot of concerns about whether we had the squad to meet the demand. The demand was for the club to go straight back up.
“We managed to find a good rhythm at home, a good form at home.
“The fans started to believe and it all played out in the second to last game against Arbroath with an unbelievable ending.
“That first season in the Premier League was a challenge but we managed to maintain our Premier League status, which I thought was always going to be a tough ask.
“The next season we cleared the decks a wee bit. I felt as if it was my squad and my team put together.
“And what we did do was something special. It was a brilliant campaign – it’s not easy for a club like Kilmarnock to finish fourth and in the European spots.
“We got the benefit of that with the European trip. “There are ups and downs with every job, but for me there was loads of enjoyment from the job. It’s a brilliant club with brilliant support.
“There were some really brilliant people there. I’m looking forward to catching up with some of my staff, who I still keep in touch with and a lot of the key people there who work in and around the club.”
(Image: SNS Group)
That success paved the way for his eventual switch to Hearts and McInnes has the Jambos beating with a two point lead at the summit from seven games.
But McInnes admits he was in no rush to return to the dugout at Killie following a lengthy stint at Aberdeen.
He added: “I had eight years at Aberdeen and I enjoyed the break, the time off in between that from Aberdeen.
“I was enjoying doing what I was doing, getting to know my family again, getting to enjoy life and not be a football manager, and doing a bit of TV work.
“It was only really the last month or two when I was doing TV work and things like that, I started to get a wee bit dugout envy.
“I started to think more about the games, and started to get that itch again.
“When Tommy Wright lost his job, I remember it came up on the Sky Sports ticker at home.
“At no point did I even consider applying or whatever. I didn’t put two and two together then my agent said Kilmarnock had asked if I’d be interested in a chat.
“I went down and I liked the people, I liked how I felt once I came out of the room, and I thought ‘why not, let’s take it on’.
“I’m so glad I did. I enjoyed my time there, there was a bit of risk with that but it was so rewarding.
“Every job’s different. You normally get jobs because teams are struggling, or teams aren’t meeting the demand.
“Very rarely do you get into a club because the club’s doing well and flying.
“There’s always issues but our job as managers is to go in and try and get the whole thing moving in the right direction, and I felt we did that.”