Derek McInnes comfortable with shouldering Tony Bloom’s expectations for Hearts

Derek McInnes insisted he is comfortable with shouldering Tony Bloom’s lofty expectations for Hearts after he met the club’s ambitious new shareholder for the first time this week.

Brighton owner Bloom, who recently completed a deal to invest in the Jambos, stated ahead of Monday’s Premiership opener against Aberdeen that he felt they could finish in the top two this term and that he would be “very disappointed” if they had not won the title within the next 10 years.

McInnes, appointed in May, is relishing being the man charged with trying to deliver on Bloom’s bold promises.

“I think when you hear it from certain people, people can maybe question it, but there’s so much validation and confidence with what he says because he clearly has a track record,” he said on Thursday. “He’s very successful. He utterly believes every word he’s saying.

“He’s a very clever man and he’s a very successful man as well. You want your owners and people that you work for at the club to have that ambition, and there’s a clear ambition from everybody at Hearts, including Tony, to try and drive the whole thing forward here.

“We’re all well aware that we’re here to be successful – we’re not wanting to mess about – and hopefully we can be.”

McInnes met Bloom for the first time on Tuesday, the morning after the English entrepreneur had attended their 2-0 victory over Aberdeen.

“It was enjoyable,” he said. “He was getting a tour of the training ground really and seeing everything that’s going on here with (sporting director) Graeme Jones, and part of that was obviously to pop in and see me and we had a good chat.

“We spent over an hour or so together before training and he was very engaging, just really positive and really encouraged by what he sees at the club, encouraged by the start we’ve had and encouraged by what the future could look like. It was nice to actually spend a bit of time with him.”

McInnes, who feels his squad is “looking pretty strong at the minute”, has allowed 20-year-old right-back Adam Forrester to join St Johnstone on a co-operation loan.

“Adam played 30-odd games for Hearts last season, and that’s great going for him as a youngster,” said the manager. “We couldn’t guarantee that was going to be the case this time around, especially early on in the season, so we think it’s important for any young player just to keep playing. But being a co-operation loan, we have got that flexibility to bring him back.”