Hearts to appoint former Blackpool and Liverpool figure as manager

Neil Critchley's return to football management will be confirmed today as Hearts prepare to appoint the former Blackpool boss.

According to our friends at the Edinburgh Evening News, the Scottish Premiership side are in 'advanced talks' with Neil Critchley. It's been three weeks since they parted with Steven Naismith, and Critchley appears to be their preferred candidate after talks with Per-Mathias Hogmo collapsed on Friday.

Critchley held talks over the weekend, and they appear to have been positive, that so much so that his appointment could be imminent. He will get down to work imminently, travelling to Edinburgh after talks reached a 'successful' conclusion, and he should be in the dugout for his first game when Hearts take on St Mirren at Tynecastle Park.

It’s expected that he will bring his own coaching staff to the club, and that could see a few coaches seen in the dugout from last season, head up to Scotland. Assistant Head Coach Mike Garrity departed the club alongside Critchley this summer, meanwhile Keogh who replaced Iain Brunskilll, remained a part of Steve Bruce’s coaching setup.

It's been eight weeks, or 54 days to be exact since Critchley's departure from Bloomfield Road. He was one season in to a four-year deal but was relieved of his duties this term following defeats to Crawley Town, and Stockport County.

The job at Hearts will be his fourth managerial job as a senior manager. He was the academy director of Crewe Alexandra's academy, before joining Liverpool in 2013. In a seven-year spell, he managed their under-18s, under 21s, and the first-team.

He had to manage the Reds in a Carabao Cup match, with the team away in the FIFA Club World Cup, and then in the FA Cup, with Jurgen Klopp not in attendance when a young Liverpool side beat Shrewsbury Town. Shortly after, Critchley took over Blackpool, and guided them to promotion in 2021.

Despite guiding the club to safety in his first season, he joined Aston Villa as assistant coach to Steven Gerrard. He lasted just a couple of months, and then had a short spell in charge of QPR.