GERS GO TO LONDON TO PLAN BOSS HUNT

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escort away from the ground when furious punters gathered around the team bus as his short-lived reign reached its grim conclusion with yet another lacklustre performance.

Now those crisis conference call talks are set to be followed by a face-to-face meeting in which Cavenagh and vice-chairman Paraag Marathe will begin the process of whittling through a list of potential candidates.

Tynecastle chiefs are ready to knock back any approach for McInnes and believe Tony Bloom's involvement at the Premiership leaders will help to convince their manager to resist any call from the club he used to play for.

Gerrard has reservations about a potential return to Scotland due to the quality of the squad he would inherit from Martin.

However, the Liverpool legend has admitted for the first time that he is ready to go back into management, so long as the right call comes.

Gerrard was a guest on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast with his old England teammate, and Ibrox chiefs will be alert to the fact he has opened the door to a dugout return after rejecting half a dozen opportunities since being out of work.