When Derek McInnes was appointed head coach of Hearts last May, he made it clear that the role felt like the job he should have been given years earlier.
“This is everything I wanted,” he said at the time and there was little doubt he meant it. But football moves quickly. Thirteen months and one season later, he has left Hearts to take over at Rangers.
Once Rangers showed interest in bringing him to Ibrox, there was a growing sense of inevitability about the move. It became a question of when, not if.
While some Hearts supporters may feel disappointed by his departure, the reaction is not expected to be overly emotional. McInnes has always been regarded as a Rangers man, and although he came close to delivering a remarkable Scottish Premiership title challenge falling just three minutes short of glory he never truly felt like a long-term figure at Tynecastle.
Despite his impressive impact, he was not seen as a legacy-defining manager for Hearts, particularly with the possibility of the Rangers job looming in the background.
In truth, McInnes heading to Ibrox always felt like an eventuality rather than a surprise and, as many around Scottish football believed, it has now simply come to pass.
