Alex Albon’s Williams boss James Vowles has issued a hands-off warning to both Mercedes and Red Bull after revealing his star driver is under contract for next season.

Lewis Hamilton’s shock move from Mercedes to Ferrari for 2025 has set Formula One’s transfer market into overdrive, with the London-born Albon mooted as a possible replacement for the seven-time world champion.

Albon, 27, has also been linked with a return to Red Bull, with Sergio Perez’s contract due to expire at the end of the year.

But speaking at Williams’ season launch, team principal Vowles said: “Alex is signed with Williams until the end of 2025.

“It is not something I have been very public about because I have not felt the need to.

“It is our job at Williams to create an environment that deserves someone of the calibre of Alex. He is an incredible driver that deserves his place towards the front of the grid.

“Some of his drives last year were no different to other champions I have worked with in the past.

“He and I have good chats about how we want to move forward, and how we want to move forward is by having our journey together in this team for a long time.

“But would I stand in Alex’s way? I have the responsibility of Williams on my shoulders and that is the most important thing to me, not the responsibility towards one individual, in this case Alex, but to the team.”

Albon finished last year with an impressive 27 points to help Williams land seventh in the constructors’ championship, the team’s best result for six seasons.

He was dropped by Red Bull at the end of 2020 but the world champions still hold him in high regard.

Asked if Vowles’ revelation means he will remain with Williams for at least the next two seasons, Albon said: “Let’s see. Time will tell.

“The real focus is on 2024 and making progress for 2025. That is where I am at.

“If the team is where I want them to be, it will be a long-term contract and we are going to go all the way or nothing.”

Meanwhile, F1 bosses have confirmed a rejigged running order for the six sprint weekends this season.

Qualifying for the sprint will now take place on Friday, with the grid for Sunday’s grand prix decided on Saturday following the shortened race.

The new season starts in Bahrain on March 2.

New Masters champion Stephen Bunting has opened up on his battles with mental health and revealed how a hypnotist has helped turn his career around.

The 38-year-old won his first televised PDC major title on Sunday when he outclassed Michael van Gerwen in the final in Milton Keynes just a few years after nearly walking away from the game.

Bunting, who is a former BDO world champion, made the switch to the PDC circuit a decade ago and threatened to make waves before he hit a dip that left him depressed.

The Liverpudlian said he felt like a laughing stock and turned to a hypnotist and sports psychologist to get over his demons.

“I was ready for walking away,” he said. “It was awful, I was walking into events and I felt like everyone was laughing at me.

“I felt like no matter what I was doing everything was going wrong. I was taking it out on my family and locking myself away.

“I was depressed, it was an awful place to be. Thankfully the psychologist and hypnotist over the last few years have helped.

“I was against it at first but I thought I needed to do something and that was probably the last step that I could take and I went.

“He taught me how to think not just about darts, there’s other things than darts, your family, your home life.

“I know they say in Peter Pan you think about happy stuff and you can fly but it is the same sort of logic in darts. If you turn up and are feeling happy and good then you can win anything.

“The hypnotist helped me with my sleep. That’s the biggest thing for me, a one-hour session with a hypnotist is a four-hour REM state so it helps you to focus, it helps you look at all the positives and stop looking at the negatives.

“Your mind is 95 per cent negative so sometimes every one of us will be in the negative side of the brain without even knowing it.

“I don’t think there are many players who have dipped into that side so to have that extra one or two per cent that helps. As you can see I am a champion now, so I’m just happy.”

Bunting, who channelled his inner Lionel Messi by sleeping alongside his trophy on Sunday night, has been waiting a long time to get his hands on some silverware.

But he said he would consider giving it back if it meant Jurgen Klopp decided to stay at his beloved Liverpool.

“I might give my trophy, but I wouldn’t give my title back,” he quipped.

“I actually felt like I lost a family member. I was away in Ireland when I heard the news and I was absolutely devastated. I don’t think there is a manager in the world that could take his place.

“Such a fantastic manager, what he has done for the club, a special, special man. He will be sorely missed by everyone at Liverpool. Even the Premier League will miss him.

“I am going to go to the cup final, I have got a ticket for the last game of the season, so I will be able to pay my respects and see him off. It is emotional for any Liverpool fan.”

Sir Gareth Edwards has described his former Wales and British and Irish Lions half-back partner Barry John as a “mercurial” player who was “a catalyst for so much success”.

John’s death at the age of 79 was announced by his family on Sunday.

He won 25 Wales caps between 1966 and 1972, and was a pivotal performer for the 1971 Test series-winning Lions team against New Zealand.

Such were the quality of his performances on that tour that he was nicknamed ‘The King’ by New Zealand journalists.

John played his club rugby for Llanelli and then Cardiff, where he struck up a half-back partnership with Edwards that went on to flourish for Wales and the Lions.

Edwards and John played together 23 times in Wales colours, plus one Lions Test against South Africa in 1968 and all four in New Zealand three years later.

They won Five Nations titles, Grand Slams and Triple Crowns together, and were dominant figures during Welsh rugby’s golden era.

“There is no doubt that the world of sport – and Welsh rugby in particular – has lost a legendary figure following the death of my great mate, Barry John,” Edwards said.

“He was one of a kind, a mercurial figure on the field, and was a catalyst for so much success for Wales and the British and Irish Lions.

“I spoke to him only last week, and he seemed in good cheer. I was devastated, as were my family and so many others to hear the news of his passing. All our thoughts are with his wife Jan and his family.”

Edwards recalled one of their early rugby meetings ahead of a Wales trial match early in 1967.

“We were both students then,” Edwards said. “He was at Trinity College, Carmarthen and I was at Cardiff Training College, and I rang him up and suggested we should meet before we played together.

“I had a car and was happy to drive from Cardiff, so we arranged to meet on a pitch in Carmarthen. When I arrived at Trinity College, Barry was nowhere to be found.

“There I was, looking immaculate in my green college tracksuit, boots in hand, ready for action, but Barry had apparently forgotten about our meeting.

“I bumped into someone I knew and he said he had seen Barry enjoying himself at a party the night before. He went off and found him, and when he eventually turned up he looked a bit scruffy and didn’t have any boots, just plimsolls.

“I was concerned about my pass, because everyone said it wasn’t very good, and so we had a bit of a throw about.

“He was slipping all over the place, and in the end he came up with the immortal line, ‘Gar, you just throw it and I’ll catch it!’. And that’s how it was for us from there on.”

They travelled the world together, thrilling crowds with their magical brand of rugby and earning global acclaim.

“Lots of people ask me to compare Barry with the other great outside-half I played with for Wales, Phil Bennett,” Edwards added.

“Phil had to have the ball in his hands before he decided what he was going to do, whereas Barry’s computer-like brain was always scanning and summing up his options before he got hold of the ball.

“Barry didn’t have the shuddering sidestep of Cliff Morgan, Dai Watkins or Phil, but he was lithe and much quicker than people gave him credit for, and he could simply glide past people.

“On top of that, he was a fantastic kicker and was never afraid to try things on the international stage that were out of the ordinary.

“What a player, team-mate, friend he was. He may be gone, but he will never, ever be forgotten.”

Caldwell Potter will join British champion trainer Paul Nicholls and count Sir Alex Ferguson as one of his new owners after being sold for a record €740,000 at an enthralling Tattersalls Ireland sale on Monday.

Andy and Gemma Brown, who run their horses under the Caldwell Construction banner, shocked the racing world late last month when announcing they were to sell their entire string.

Caldwell Potter was the star attraction among 29 lots to go under the hammer at Fairyhouse, having already shown top-level form over obstacles for Gordon Elliott to go with his excellent pedigree.

Following a slow start the bidding eventually got under way at €100,000 before ultimately ending up in a tense straight shootout between two parties.

The packed sales ring fell silent after the auctioneer confirmed a €700,000 bid, and while a counter offer of €720,000 was made by Elliott, the hammer eventually went down at €740,000, ensuring Caldwell Potter became the most expensive National Hunt horse ever sold at public auction.

Highflyer bloodstock agent Anthony Bromley was immediately announced as the successful bidder and he confirmed Caldwell Potter will now move across the Irish Sea.

Bromley told Tattersalls: “I don’t feel great about taking the horse out of Gordon Elliott’s yard, he’s done so well with the horse, but this is business and you’ve got to do your best for your clients.

“When I saw this horse was coming up for sale there was only one call I made and it was to John Hales. He’s been a client of mine for many years, since back in the time of Azertyuiop, and we’ve had Neptune Collonges and Politologue in between.

“I bought him for a little partnership they’ve got together, four guys – John Hales, Ged Mason, Sir Alex Ferguson and Peter Done.

“I’m thrilled to get the horse, but it is a little bittersweet because I could see how much Gordon was trying to get the horse back when he was bidding.”

The six-year-old son of Martaline is not only a full-brother to Mighty Potter, who won four Grade Ones for Elliott and the Browns before suffering a fatal injury last year, but his dam Matnie has also produced three other high-class performers in French Dynamite, Indiana Jones and Brighterdaysahead.

Caldwell Potter has so far lived up to his breeding, winning three times from seven starts in all and two of his first three outings over hurdles, including a Grade One success on his most recent appearance in the Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting.

He holds entries in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle at next month’s Cheltenham Festival, but Bromley warned he is not certain to line up in the Cotswolds.

He added: “He’ll go to Paul’s and he doesn’t have to go to Cheltenham, I believe. It’s not the be-all and end-all because it’s only going to be four weeks and he has to settle into his new regime.

“It could be that he needs that bit of time to settle in and go to Aintree, but really we’ve bought him as a steeplechaser because he’s got a pedigree for a Gold Cup in him, I think.

“At the moment he’s only run at two miles and he’s such an exciting horse for the longer term. Realistically that’s why we bought him, not for four weeks’ time.”

Caldwell Potter’s fee eclipses the previous record for a jumps horse sold at auction in Interconnected, who was bought by Darren Yates at Doncaster in 2019 for £620,000.

Lookaway will return to the scene of his brave Challow Hurdle second on Saturday after featuring in the confirmations for the Betfair Hurdle.

Neil King’s charge was a Grade Two bumper winner in the spring of 2022 and after a disappointing 2022-2023 campaign has flourished in his second season as a novice hurdler – winning three of his five starts, including a Grade Two at Cheltenham’s October meeting.

Second in the Greatwood Hurdle the following month, he was upped in trip for the Grade One Challow at Newbury over the Christmas period where he went down fighting to Captain Teague.

He now drops back in trip attempting to regain the winning thread and, although he holds an entry for a Listed event at Exeter on Sunday, his handler has confirmed Newbury is the plan.

King said: “We’re 100 per cent going for the Betfair. He came out the Challow really well and he worked on the grass on Saturday morning and worked great.

“Jack (Quinlan, jockey) is going to school him on Tuesday morning and it is very much all systems go for the Betfair Hurdle.

“The (forecast) rain doesn’t bother me at all and it is probably a blessing for us. It will help blunt some of the others speed and put the emphasis on stamina, I hope.

“He’s a second-season novice and that bit extra experience running in these competitive races should stand him in good stead. We hope he can take another step forwards.”

There were 26 still in the mix after Monday’s confirmation stage. Willie Mullins’ stable newcomer Ocastle Des Mottes is listed as joint-favourite with the sponsors alongside Nicky Henderson’s pair of Greatwood winner Iberico Lord and Ascot Christmas scorer Luccia.

Henderson also has recent Grade Two runner-up Under Control and Doddiethegreat in the mix, where the latter will be bidding to avenge his Cheltenham defeat at the hands of Olly Murphy’s Go Dante if reopposing at the weekend.

Other notable names include Ben Pauling’s highly-regarded Tellherthename and Gerry Feilden one-three Hansard (Gary Moore) and Brentford Hope (Harry Derham), who are both course and distance winners

Huw Jones says that Scotland will expect a reaction from France in next Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash.

Les Bleus head to Edinburgh on the back of a crushing 38-17 home defeat against Six Nations title and Grand Slam favourites Ireland.

It followed their shattering World Cup quarter-final loss to South Africa, and they now face a tough examination at Murrayfield, where recent history does not favour them.

Scotland have won three of the last four Six Nations Tests at home against France, and they are fresh from a first victory over Wales in Cardiff for 22 years.

It might not have been exactly how they planned, with Wales scoring 26 unanswered points to threaten the biggest comeback victory in Six Nations history.

But Scotland managed to hold on for a 27-26 success, ending a run of 11 successive defeats in the Welsh capital.

“We’re really happy to have won, but there are still things we need to fix if we are to continue to grow,” Glasgow centre Jones said.

“This is a great chance to learn from our mistakes because it always feels better when you have won. We can take this momentum into next weekend.

“We will be expecting a reaction from France and from ourselves as well. We watched their game, and Ireland did their job very well.

“We have got to keep playing and manage whatever they throw at us. We want to kick on.”

Scotland are set to have co-captain Rory Darge available after he missed the Wales game due to a knee injury, while lock Grant Gilchrist has served a one-week suspension that sidelined him last weekend.

And it is a timey double development for Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, given that lock Richie Gray (biceps) and flanker Luke Crosbie (shoulder) were forced off injured at the Principality Stadium.

Townsend said: “We know that next weekend is a totally different challenge.

“A team that has been one of the best in the world for a number of years on the back of a defeat, so they will be a big threat to us and we will have to be better.

“You look at yourselves, and if you get things right and you manage to get into the opposition 22, then opportunities will arrive, especially with the players we have.

“If we can get the ball into Finn’s (Finn Russell) hands more often, the players outside him, then when you do have one on ones and you have space to attack, then we will get behind the defence.

“The second half (in Cardiff) we just didn’t have enough ball. We had hardly any ball until the end of the game.”

Caldwell Potter became the most expensive National Hunt horse ever sold at public auction on Monday after fetching €740,000 at Andy and Gemma Brown’s Tattersalls Ireland dispersal at Fairyhouse.

The couple, who run their horses under the Caldwell Construction banner, shocked the racing world late last month when announcing they were to sell their entire string.

Caldwell Potter was the star attraction among 29 lots to go under the hammer, having already shown top-level form over obstacles for Gordon Elliott to go with his excellent pedigree.

The six-year-old son of Martaline is not only a full-brother to Mighty Potter, who won four Grade Ones for Elliott and the Browns before suffering a fatal injury last year, but his dam Matnie has also produced three other high-class performers in French Dynamite, Indiana Jones and Brighterdaysahead.

Caldwell Potter has so far lived up to his breeding, winning three times from seven starts in all and two of his first three outings over hurdles, including a Grade One success on his most recent appearance in the Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting.

Following a slow start the bidding eventually got under way at €100,000 before ultimately ending up in a tense straight shootout between two parties.

The packed sales ring fell silent after the auctioneer confirmed a €700,000 bid, and while a counter offer of €720,000 was made, the hammer eventually went down at €740,000, with Highflyer bloodstock agent Anthony Bromley immediately announced as the successful bidder.

Caldwell Potter’s fee eclipses the previous record for a jumps horse sold at auction in Interconnected, who was bought by Darren Yates at Doncaster in 2019 for £620,000.

New Aberdeen manager Neil Warnock vowed to have a “little bit of fun” and targeted cup glory after achieving a long-held ambition of working in Scotland.

The 75-year-old revealed he had rejected more lucrative recent offers but seized the opportunity to move to the cinch Premiership in an interim role until the end of the season.

Aberdeen will take time to make a long-term appointment after Barry Robson became the fourth manager in successive seasons to lose his job.

Warnock came out of retirement 12 months ago to lead Huddersfield to Sky Bet Championship safety in a similar role.

The former QPR, Leeds and Sheffield United manager has previously applied for the Aberdeen role and come close to the Hearts job and claimed he turned down an offer from current Dons chief executive Alan Burrows when he was in the same position at Motherwell.

“It’s been a long time,” he said. “I have always wanted to manage up here. I’ve got a place at Dunoon and my club’s Greenock Morton. I’ve got bricks there with the family name on, so I have always enjoyed going to watch a game there.

“When I spoke to (chairman) Dave Cormack and Alan it just seemed the right thing to do.

“It gives them a little bit of time to find the right manager that’s going to take the club forward and also, as I said to them, let’s have a little bit of fun between now and the end of the season as well. I like to put smiles on people’s faces.

“I applied for the job once many years ago and I never even got a reply. I felt let down at the time and I used that a little bit to motivate myself – I’ll show them what they’re missing. I managed to get promotion the following year.”

Warnock added: “It’s not for the money. I’ve had some good offers in the last six to eight weeks. I’d like to have a go in this league and I’d like to have a go at a club like this.

“I got a good feeling about here. In the last couple of weeks I could have got two or three times my salary that I’m on here, in England, but it’s not the salary now. You don’t come back at my age unless it ticks the boxes.

“We play Hibernian shortly, (managed by) Nick Montgomery, one of my young lads (he played under Warnock at Sheffield United), there’s all sorts of things. I nearly got the Hearts job once and they gave it some bloke from Latvia or somewhere, so that was a bit of an insult.

“There’s a lot to play for league-wise and I’d like to win a cup. I’ve not won a cup. I got to semi-finals a couple of times and got done by referees, but we’ll not go into that.

“The only pressure is I want to win. I can’t see me getting sacked in four months. So I have got to try and enjoy it and try and make the fans enjoy it.”

Aberdeen are the 17th club Warnock has taken charge of and he claims not much has changed since he got his break with Gainsborough Trinity in the Northern Premier League in 1981.

“I get called a dinosaur and all sorts of names, some I can’t repeat, but in my career as a football manager, nothing has changed in the fact that to be successful, 90-95 per cent is man-management,” said Warnock, who has achieved eight promotions with seven different clubs.

Warnock’s first game is at Ibrox on Tuesday against a Rangers side who could go top of the league.

“I was going to start next week, but the lure of taking over for a game like that is too good really,” said the Yorkshireman, who has brought in Ronnie Jepson as assistant manager to work alongside first-team coach Peter Leven.

“If we get battered, it’s Peter’s fault. If we do well, then I’m very influential on the result.”

Having conquered the Dublin Racing Festival, Sophie Leech is now focussed on landing a telling blow at the Cheltenham Festival with the improving Madara.

The five-year-old, who is owned by Brian Drew and Friends, was a taking winner over two miles at Prestbury Park in December but took another leap forward when sealing a rare victory for the British raiders in the Listed Ryanair Handicap Chase at Leopardstown.

It was yet another enterprising move from the Leech operation, with the trainer – alongside husband and assistant Christian – a regular visitor to France with their string, where they have managed to get their hands on Graded and Listed prizes.

However, Madara’s impressive triumph in Dublin was by far their biggest on UK or Irish soil and now has the Gloucestershire operation dreaming of success at the Cheltenham Festival, where they are leaning towards stepping the gelding up in trip for the Trustatrader Plate.

“He looks to be improving and is remarkable really – 100 per cent, I have never experienced anything like Saturday before, it was on another level,” said Leech.

“He has really settled into our way of doing things and has thrived. He’s so laid back and just takes everything in his stride. He’s old beyond his years and just a wonderful horse to be around really – he’s just a joy.

“It’s difficult to know (how high he could go) and I never imagined he would get to where he is now. But he looks to still have something in hand, so hopefully he can keep on improving.”

On Cheltenham, Leech added: “100 per cent, the dream is still alive. I think the more we think about it, we are probably erring more towards the Plate.

“However, if it was heavy ground, he could probably drop back to two miles, so he will have an entry in both (the Plate and Grand Annual) to give him all options.”

Madara was ridden at Leopardstown by former French champion jockey James Reveley, with Leech knowing the Yorkshireman well from her team’s ventures across the English Channel.

He showcased all his style and craft in the saddle when guiding Madara through the field to strike approaching the last in Ireland and the trainer is banking on calling on his services once again at Prestbury Park next month.

She added: “James is really keen to ride him again (at Cheltenham) and part of the idea behind getting James to ride him at Leopardstown was we wanted continuity ideally for the Festival.

“We are unlikely to get Harry Cobden (at Cheltenham) and he certainly wasn’t able to come over to Ireland, so James will keep the ride for sure.

“James is so experienced and we know him well, he has ridden lots for us in France.”

Mauricio Pochettino called for support from fans after Chelsea were booed off at the end of Sunday’s 4-2 defeat to Wolves.

The Argentinian, who apologised for the manner in which his team capitulated after taking the lead in the first half at Stamford Bridge, said his young side need backing if they are to turn around what until now has been another woeful Premier League season.

The Blues are 11th after losing to Gary O’Neil’s side, with 10 defeats from their 23 league games.

Supporters responded by singing the name of former owner Roman Abramovich, and jeered Pochettino and his team off the field at half-time and again at the final whistle.

Matheus Cunha’s hat-trick had earned Wolves their first win at Chelsea since 1979 and was well deserved, with the visitors the more inventive and clinical in possession while Pochettino’s side suffered from a familiar lack of creativity.

Yet it was a perceived absence of fight that most angered supporters.

“We apologise to the fans,” said Pochettino. “The perception is one thing, another is the reality. The perception is Chelsea should be in a different position, but for different circumstances we are not there. Maybe because we are not good enough. But what can we do?

“The most important thing now is to feel the responsibility. We need to accept that is the organisation and of course the players that we have.

“To understand the fans is really important. We want to apologise and feel sorry. We are disappointed like them, but until the end we need to fight all together. If we want good results in the future, we need to stay together. During 90 minutes, we need to try to work together.

“With the capacity, the fans will be right to criticise and be angry if the performance is not good. But it’s important (to remember) the players are young. They need support.”

Much of the fury was directed at Pochettino personally, the first clear sign of his tenure that backing for the manager is under strain.

“During the moment, it’s not nice,” he said. “But I think we have to move on. You need to convince the players, push them to never give up and be brave and to recover. It’s the leader that needs to be there, to have the composure to push them.

“We can talk, but we are in the dugout. The players need to feel the confidence, to feel fresh to compete again.

“They feel the pressure and they need the help from the fans during 90 minutes. It’s not to demand nothing. But it’s easy to be outside watching. When the stress arrives, sometimes it’s not easy. We need to be behind them.”

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and Point-to-Point Authority (PPA) have pledged to carry out a full review into the tragic death of Keagan Kirkby to gauge whether any lessons can be learned.

A highly-valued member of the Paul Nicholls team in Ditcheat, Kirkby, 25, was riding at a meeting at Charing in Kent on Sunday when his horse ran through the wing of a fence in the final race of the day.

A joint-statement from the BHA and PPA read: “The necessary steps in response to this tragic incident commenced immediately after the race on Sunday and have continued today.

“The BHA are visiting the site and will work with the PPA, the racecourse and attending medical teams to ensure that the incident is fully reviewed.

“All of the relevant bodies will also assist the police and/or Environmental Health Officer with any enquiries they wish to make.

“The medical facilities and teams at Charing racecourse on Sunday were fully compliant with the required standards and included two racecourse doctors and three fully equipped ambulances with paramedic crews.

“The medical team attended Mr Kirkby within 30 seconds of his fall. Further support was provided by 999 road and air ambulances.

“Despite the immediate medical attention, the injuries were of such an extent that it was not possible to save Mr Kirkby’s life.

“It is important that, with any incident such as this, we do all that we can to understand what caused it, and whether there is anything we can learn from it.

“There is a risk attached to racing which can never be entirely removed, but we are committed to ensure that we assess every incident and use any findings to help continually improve our safety record.

“Our thoughts remain with Keagan Kirkby’s family and his many friends and colleagues from within the racing industry and beyond.

“The Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF) are coordinating support for the Kirkby family, his places of work and any staff member or participant at the event.”

Tributes have poured in for Kirkby, led by Sir Anthony McCoy, Kirkby’s boyhood hero, who posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Tragically sad news. My thoughts are with Keagan’s family, friends and everyone at Ditcheat.”

Leading trainer Fergal O’Brien commented: “Every now and then, things happen that make you regain perspective. A very sad day for racing. Love to those who lost a friend.”

Nicholls’ stable jockey Harry Cobden said: “A terrible tragedy. Keagan loved his job and was an integral part of Team Ditcheat.”

Assistant trainer Charlie Davies added: “A heartbreaking day, Keagan was as kind and enthusiastic a guy you could meet.

“We started at Paul’s on the same day four and a half years ago and became great friends. I am and always will be proud to be your friend and will miss you greatly.”

Fellow Ditcheat team member Scott Sainsbury posted: “Heartbroken is an understatement, to have you as a best friend has been the biggest privilege life has given to me.

“Such a kind soul and an absolute gentleman and to know that I won’t be able to give you a hug and catch up with you anymore tears me up.”

Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay expressed pride and admiration after seeing manager Steven Naismith block out the early-season “noise” to set the Jambos firmly on course for third place in the cinch Premiership.

Naismith’s team have won 11 of their last 14 league matches to pull 12 points clear of fourth-placed Kilmarnock as they bid to secure European group-stage football for next season.

However, Naismith – who was initially handed the title of technical director last summer due to his lack of a UEFA Pro Licence preventing him being manager for the Conference League qualifiers in August – came under intense pressure after winning just three of the opening 10 Premiership matches.

Less than two months ago, at the club’s mid-December AGM in the wake of back-to-back defeats by Rangers and Aberdeen, Hearts chief McKinlay had to field questions from angry supporters about the 37-year-old’s suitability for the role – but he has impressively silenced the doubters since then.

“After the last game of last season, there were a lot of fans who wanted us to appoint Steven (following his spell as interim manager) and then as we came into this season that seemed to drift away and it became noisy quickly,” McKinlay – speaking as Hearts opened the Tynecastle Park Hotel inside the stadium’s main stand – told the PA news agency.

“Some of that might have been around the issue we had to face with the job titles etc, which Steven was fully accepting of because he knew that was the only way we could do it with the European rules. That probably didn’t help him, but Steven never complained during that period.

“Steven’s also very understanding of the demands of the Hearts fans. Other people might say ‘why are they like that?’, ‘why are they so demanding?’ but he’s never said anything like that, he accepts the way they are.

“Yes, I’m sure sometimes he would like it if they took a little bit longer to go against the team (during matches) but that’s how it is, he’s played out there, he understands it.

“I’ve never seen anyone that works as hard as he does. He will never fail through lack of hard work. He has a very clear confidence in what he does and he’s stuck to what he thinks is right.

“He doesn’t tend to fluctuate up or down, he’s very measured. He always believed in himself and he believes in his process and the way he works. He’s kept faithful to that and it’s starting to bear fruit. I’m delighted for him.”

Hearts looked on course to finish third at this time last year when they were seven points clear of fourth-place Livingston, only to be reeled in and overtaken by Aberdeen following a run of six defeats in eight league games under previous boss Robbie Neilson, which resulted in his sacking in April.

McKinlay, having boasted in an interview in December 2022 that Hearts “welcome the chase from those behind us”, was mocked on social media by Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack after the Dons pipped them to European group-stage football.

The Tynecastle chief is confident there will be no repeat under Naismith in the coming months but is wary of taking anything for granted.

“This time last year we had been on a good run but, although I can’t put my finger on why, it does feel different this time,” he said.

“We’re in a great position as the league stands but we’re very well aware of what happened last year. The team are well aware of it as well.

“I’m confident we can get over the line but given what happened last year none of us are complacent about it.”