McInnes named favourite to be new manager at Hibs

DEREK McINNES was last night installed as the new bookmakers’ favourite to be the next manager of Hibernian. Appointed boss of Kilmarnock in January, McInnes led the Rugby Park side to automatic promotion to the Premiership. And last night leading bookie Bet Victor elevated the former Aberdeen boss to 2/1 favourite to take over at Easter Road. Sportsmail understands McInnes is in no rush to leave Killie, where he appreciates the stable backing of major shareholder Billy Bowie. As yet, Hibs have reached no decision on who they want to replace Shaun Maloney. Owner Ron Gordon will arrive in Scotland this weekend to take charge of the search after son

Ian and chief executive Ben Kensell travelled to London for informal talks with potential candidates including Darren Ferguson and Michael Appleton. Ferguson will not be the next manager but Appleton — a candidate for the post in 2019 — could feature on the shortlist. Appleton is second favourite for the post at 5/1 with Malky Mackay and Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray listed next. Hibs plan to whittle down the list of interested candidates before interviews are carried out by the full board of directors. David Gray has been placed in charge of the first team with the club prepared to prolong the search for a new boss.