FINDLAY JUST A PERFECT FIT

FOOTBALL: WILLIAM HILL PREMIERSHIP.

- By Scott McDermott

DEREK MCINNES might not get the Hearts striker he wants, if Lawrence Shankland finally decides to leave Tynecastle.

But, when it comes to defenders, the Jambos manager nabbed his top summer target in Stuart Findlay.

The Oxford United centre-back was immediately on his radar when getting the gig as Gorgie gaffer last month.

After working with Findlay for the past two seasons at Kilmarnock on loan from the English Championship side, McInnes knows exactly what the 29-year-old brings to a team.

And in the age of stats and data, you get the feeling that, even if Tony Bloom’s Jamestown Analytics hadn’t flagged Findlay as a potential signing, McInnes would’ve demanded it anyway.

He’s delighted to have snared Findlay on another loan deal, which will surely be made full-time come next summer when his contract at Oxford expires.

‘And, among all the exits and arrivals at Hearts in this transfer window, McInnes feels getting Findlay on board could be one of their best bits of business.

When asked about whether Findlay had scored high on the analytics algorithm, he said: “Jamestown are not here to say yes and no to everything.