Neil Critchley set to land Hearts manager job as new boss to land in Edinburgh TOMORROW

Neil Critchley looks set to be named as the new Hearts manager.

The former Queen’s Park Rangers and Blackpool boss is in advanced talks with the Tynecastle hierarchy and is expected in the capital on Monday. Critchley is expected to bring in his own backroom team, which is likely to include his long-term assistants Mike Garrity and Iain Brunskill.

The 46-year-old got down to the final two of the Hearts’ interview process last week. It was down to Per-Mathias Hogmo and Critchley and they were both put in front of the Hearts board. The Jambos initially went for the veteran Norwegian but were unable to agree terms on Friday and now they have pushed ahead with a move to appoint Steven Gerrard’s assistant manager. His possible appointment has been met with a mixed reception from the Hearts fan base.

Critchley came through the ranks of Liverpool, where he was their academy director and then moved up to become their Under-18 and 23 coach. He then went into frontline management with Blackpool.

The former Crewe player led them to promotion through the English League One play-offs before he left to become Gerrard’s assistant at Aston Villa. He left just before Gerrard was sacked and then went back into management with QPR in the English Championship but it ended up being a disappointing spell at Loftus Road.

Critchley returned to Blackpool for a second stint last year but was sacked in August. He was flagged up as a candidate after his stats came through the algorithms put in place by the club through Tony Bloom’s analytical process.

Critchley then impressed in the first stage of interviews and then also spoke well in front of the Hearts board although they went with Hogmo because he had more experience. Hearts have left Liam Fox