QPR supporters may be watching Gareth Ainsworth developments north of the border closely: View | OneFootball

Ainsworth has been out of work since being sacked by the Hoops last year, but he could be set for a return to management in Scotland

Gareth Ainsworth had a pretty horrendous time of things as Queens Park Rangers manager in 2023, but he is now looking to return to the game after nearly a year out.

After an unceremonious exit from Loftus Road last October, Ainsworth was taking a break from management, claiming to be focusing instead on his music career.

But he is trying to swap his band - The Cold Blooded Hearts - for the Jam Tarts as he finds himself in the running for the vacancy of Scottish Premiership outfit Heart of Midlothian.

Having finished third in the domestic standings last season, the Edinburgh club sacked former Everton and Norwich City midfielder Steven Naismith earlier this season as they sat bottom of the SPL table, where they remain winless after eight games.

Gareth Ainsworth's time at QPR as manager couldn't have gone much worse

Although his job at Wycombe Wanderers, for whom he managed over 550 games over the course of 10 years, sees him held in high regard at Adams Park, Ainsworth's managerial stock is incredibly low after a disastrous spell in charge of the R's saw him sacked after less than 30 matches at the helm.

An overall points-per-game of 0.77 across three stints in charge of the club he played for between 2003 and 2010 - although two of those times were as a caretaker boss - makes for dismal statistic viewing, and in reality he was incredibly lucky not to relegate the West London club in 2022-23.

Once viewed as a popular figure among the terraces at Loftus Road, it is a shame as to what became of Ainsworth's permanent managerial stint in West London last year, but he's looking to get back on his feet.

So, in the footsteps of Brendan Rodgers, Ainsworth is looking to reinvigorate his profile north of the border and jump-start an otherwise stationary managerial career.

Still only 51, there may yet be room for Ainsworth to truly realise his coaching potential.

Gareth Ainsworth not shying away from a challenge despite torrid time at QPR

If there were any doubts on his intentions, he gave an incredibly candid interview with the the Daily Record regarding the proposed move.

"Football has to be about having a sense of belonging, and I look at Hearts now and I think it's a club which is a bit lost," Ainsworth said.

"The big factors in what appears to be about Hearts are both the size of the club and what it has been through."

"Looking at all of that and then seeing a glimpse of what has and can be achieved with their qualification for Europe a few years ago you see a club which is now crying out for an identity and I want to bring that back in droves.

"You look back at the administration period and the progress since then, they need to get back to having that identity as being the third biggest club in Scotland."

"For Hearts, winning the league is finishing third and that's what I want to achieve, not once in a decade but to make it the norm, season on season. I want to bring people along with me, it's a club which has been used as a stepping stone by players for far too long."

"I don't want that, I want to bring players to Hearts who know they are going to achieve great things, it's the message I want to portray to the fans and then prove that with results.

"Being proud of being part of something where everyone at Hearts from the club, players and fans all achieve something together, that's what entices me about Hearts."

Would Gareth Ainsworth be a good fit for Hearts?

A man with Ainsworth's polarising reputation would be forgiven for not wanting to go near a side at the bottom of the Scottish Premier League, so you have to respect his courage.

Being so vocally realistic straight out of the blocks in regards to Hearts' inability to perforate the top two is an interesting stance and potentially damaging to his chances.

If the appointment materialises, Hoops fans will undoubtedly be watching Ainsworth's progress with great interest, wondering whether his calamitous time at Loftus Road was just an anomaly.

Football League World fan pundit for QPR, Louis Moir, spoke passionately in March amid rumours of Ainsworth taking over at Stoke.

"You've just got to look at what he did when he was at QPR and if we kept him, we probably would have finished bottom," Moir told FLW.

"He was the worst manager I've ever seen at the club, from the football to the way things were managed, his whole time was just an absolute shambles."

It seems for all the world like a situation to avoid for Hearts, but as he is currently the most hotly-tipped for the position, all you can do is wish him luck.