Tony Bloom will almost certainly have an algorithm built for this very scenario.
As a matter of fact, it’s easy to imagine Ann Budge and a bunch of boffins crowding around the Brighton owner’s oracle of a laptop, jostling for enlightenment as it disseminates the data before coughing up with the name of the ideal man for the job of replacing Steven Naismith. But sometimes the answer is so blindingly obvious that it doesn’t require a supercomputer to crush through the numbers before pinpointing the perfect candidate and tracking him down by GPS to some artisan coffee shop in a suburb of Reykjavik.
Not when Derek McInnes is just an hour and a half down the road and churning out more irrefutable, undeniable evidence of his value as a manager after almost two decades of almost unbroken overachievement. Yes doubtless Starlizard, Bloom’s miracle working analytics machine, will come up with some interesting alternatives from left field and, true, Hearts would be mad not to at least take a look for themselves assuming the technology is made available to them.
But it’s entirely feasible that the name of McInnes will feature high on that list of options in any case. If it does not then there’s probably something wonky with the programming or a glitch in the system.
Because, time and again over the years, McInnes has proven his credentials as one of this country’s smartest home grown managers and a man more than capable of putting up a consistent credible challenge to the big two, which is precisely what Bloom is hoping to achieve by getting involved at Tynecastle.
The English entrepreneur has offered to lump in around £10m for Hearts to invest in signing new players using his data-driven model and if McIness was armed with such a significant budget – along with Brighton’s cheat code in the transfer market – then he would most certainly fancy his own chances of ruffling the Old Firm’s feathers.
Of course, Kilmarnock will have no wish to do business even though McInnes has got off to a slow start at Rugby Park this season, wrestling as he has done with twin challenges of domestic and European football.
His side is currently only one league point better off than Naismith’s, albeit having played one game less.
But while Hearts felt the need to bullet the boss on the back of eight straight defeats, by contrast, Killie owner Billy Bowie won’t have given so much as a second thought to pulling the trigger on his manager.
That’s because Bowie knows for certain that McInnes has a track record for doing a great deal more good than harm and he can relax in the knowledge that this early season dip is nothing more than just a short term blip.
Hearts simply didn’t have that same comfort blanket with Naismith. There was no way of knowing if this wretched start to the campaign was a temporary trend or, instead, a sign that they might be left dangling at the wrong end of the table for the long haul and in danger of disappearing into the abyss.
In reality, Naismith had only one solid season and a single third placed finish to fall back on when arguing his case. McInnes has compiled a whole catalogue of them over the years at St Johnstone, Bristol City, Aberdeen and latterly in Ayrshire.
That’s why his name continues to be mentioned in dispatches around the corridors of Ibrox as the potential go-to man in the event that Philippe Clement should fail to get to grips with the task of turning his big rebuild around.
The Belgian is attempting to steady a listing ship at Ibrox and does have the luxury of a recently extended contract, as one of the last acts of former chairman John Bennett before ill health forced him to give up on his attempts at unifying the club.
But, with Bennett now gone, Clement may not enjoy the same level of support from above and if the men left in charge don’t see improvements on the pitch they might be far less inclined to stick with the project.
That means McInnes could become a person of interest again on Glasgow’s south side and Hearts may be wise to factor this potential scenario into their own contingency planning now that they’re first in the market to hire a new leader.
If they miss the boat on this occasion then who knows where McInness might be next time around? Football is littered with such sliding door moments which is why Budge and her board shouldn’t take too long analysing the stats when the answer to their problems is still sitting there, right in front of their noses.
Kilmarnock would argue otherwise, of course, but Hearts would represent an upgrade and perhaps even a reinvigorating challenge for McInnes – and especially if Bloom follows through on his offer to bankroll a contemporary, custom built recruitment drive.
It makes absolute sense for them to at least ask the question and to invite McInnes across the country for a serious conversation about where he sees his own future.
He might need some persuading to leave Kilmarnock behind and not least because of the stability of his relationship with Bowie.
He may want to take a close look at some of the potential red flags behind the scenes at Tynecastle as there have been some questionable decision making going on inside Budge’s boardroom over the years.
Let’s not forget, this is the man who once turned down a dream return to Rangers during his time at Pittodrie because the prospect of having to deal with Dave King’s interference made his blood run cold.
And yet, there’s no getting away from it, McInnes does feel like a good fit for Hearts – and vice versa for that matter. If both parties were to decide to get around a negotiating table and, assuming they like what they hear, then Bloom can leave his supercomputer on standby until the January sales roll around.