Former Preston North End manager Frankie McAvoy has been relieved of his duties as assistant manager at Hearts.

The Tynecastle club parted ways with head coach Steven Naismith last weekend, following a run of eight straight losses. Ex-Everton and Rangers player, Naismith, was officially appointed as head coach in September 2023 – following spells as Technical Director and caretaker manager. While Naismith gained his UEFA Pro License qualification last summer, McAvoy assumed the title of Hearts boss.

Naismith and co guided Hearts to a third placed finish in the Scottish Premiership last season. On the back of that campaign, the management team signed new contracts until 2026. But, a poor start to the season has seen Hearts pull the plug, with the club bottom of the table. The Scottish side have one point from six games, while losing to Falkirk in the League Cup and Viktoria Plzen, in both legs of their Europa League play-off.

The club’s CEO, Andrew McKinlay, said: “Results and performances have fallen below the standards expected at this football club and, unfortunately, there is little evidence of any potential upturn in fortunes. With our Conference League campaign about to commence, and the spotlight on our league position, we cannot afford to stand still.”

McAvoy made the move to Preston in 2017, following the appointment of Alex Neil as manager. He had worked with the Scot at Hamilton Academical and Norwich City. After Neil was sacked in March 2021, McAvoy had a successful eight-game stint as interim boss of Preston, and landed the job on a full-time basis that summer. He lasted 25 games of the 2021/22 campaign, with nine wins, nine draws and seven defeats across all competitions. McAvoy became Hearts’ Academy Director in February 2022.