McKinlay is new man at the helm for Hearts

HEARTS owner Ann Budge has told fans she is ‘going nowhere’ despite the club last night naming Andrew McKinlay as their new chief executive.

McKinlay was chief operating officer and interim CEO with the SFA for six years and takes up the Tynecastle job after a two-year stint as chief executive of Scottish Golf.

The appointment has been made ahead of Budge’s transfer of power to the Foundation of Hearts, which she insists will take place at the ‘earliest opportunity’.

McKinlay takes over the day-today running of the club and will report directly to predecessor Budge, who remains as executive chairman and will concentrate her efforts on ‘longer-term strategic planning’.

Despite having to accept relegation to the Championship following a lengthy legal battle, she is adamant the club can still look forward to a future that includes European football and ‘success at the top levels of Scottish football’.

Opening with a thinlyveiled dig at the SPFL and rival teams, she said: ‘You could be forgiven for thinking that my whole time over recent months has been taken up defending our position against actions taken by the football authorities and our fellow clubs.

‘I am pleased to confirm that, while not too far from the truth, planning for the future success of Hearts has remained central to my, and to the board’s, thinking.

‘With that in mind, I am delighted to formally announce the appointment of our new chief executive.

‘Andrew McKinlay, who held the position of chief operating officer with the SFA for six years and more recently was chief executive of Scottish Golf, will be taking up his role this week.

‘Andrew and I will be working closely together over the coming months and years to secure a bright future for the club.

‘Many of you will have heard me say previously that when the majority ownership structure changes, it will no longer be appropriate for me to fill both the CEO and the chairman’s role, as I have done for the past six years. In the interests of strong governance, the roles should be separated.

‘With support from the board, I have been working to identify a new CEO for some time.

‘Having interviewed a number of outstanding candidates for the position, the nominations committee members were unanimous in their decision to appoint Andrew.

‘It is a very difficult time for anyone to take over such a key role in the business but I’m sure our staff and our supporters alike will join me in supporting Andrew over the next few months when hopefully some form of normality can return to our operation.

‘For the avoidance of doubt, I am going nowhere! My work here is far from over.

‘However, rather than continuing to juggle the demands of day-to-day operations with the longer-term strategic planning decisions — so essential to our future success — I will be focused on the latter.

‘This is the first of a number of planned changes at board level as we move into the next exciting stage of our development.

‘While events of recent months have undoubtedly slowed down some of our plans, we remain committed to achieving success at the top levels of Scottish football, a greater involvement in European football, expansion of our brand in international markets, investment in youth and ongoing growth and development of all of our commercial operations.

‘Our objective remains to sit firmly at the heart of our community while succeeding on the bigger international stage that football offers.’

McKinlay spent 16 years as a lawyer before in 2012 joining the SFA, where he held the post of interim chief executive following the departure of Stewart Regan in 2018.

He said: ‘I could not be more delighted to join Hearts. I thank Ann and the board for allowing me the opportunity to join and help guide Hearts back to where we belong.’

Meanwhile, former fans’ favourite Uche Ikpeazu has joined Championship-bound Wycombe Wanderers on a three-year contract.

Ikpeazu still had two years left on the deal he signed in March last year but a tally of just five goals in 40 league appearances has seen the former Watford and Cambridge striker return south of the border.

HEARTS will kick off their season at home to Inverness Caley Thistle in the Betfred Cup on October 6.