7 next Hearts manager candidates as hunt for Robbie Neilson replacement gets underway

Robbie Neilson's tenure as Hearts manager has come to an end after the Tynecastle hierarchy made the decision to part ways on Sunday.

The 42-year-old returned to the club in June 2020 having had a spell in the hot seat between May 2014 and November 2016, delivering third place last season after guiding Hearts back to the top-flight at the first attempt. The Gorgie side were 10 points clear of Aberdeen come the turn of the year this time around but five defeats on the bounce has seen them crash out of the Scottish Cup and slip down to fourth in the Premiership. The potential prize money from finishing best of the rest is staggering with a lucrative Europa League playoff on the horizon and failing that guaranteed group stage football in the Europa Conference League, and that could have been a factor in the Hearts board's ruling.

Two games remain until the league split and it remains to be seen what route Hearts sporting director Joe Savage and chair Ann Budge will take as they sound out a potential successor. Will they opt for someone such as St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson who has experience within the division? Will they recruit from within, or decide to scout further afield in the hope of attracting a big name to the capital?

Record Sport looks at some of the candidates who could replace Neilson.

Robinson has St Mirren on course for a top six finish and Europe is firmly in their sights. He has made the Buddies hard to beat and if he was in the minds of senior Tynecastle figures then his audition couldn't have gone much better with Curtis Main and Alex Gogic ensuring St Mirren ended Neilson's Hearts tenure through a 2-0 win on Saturday.

Robinson previously had a stint in charge at Motherwell before a short spell in