Lee McCulloch looks set to be reunited with boss Robbie Neilson at Hearts after walking out on Dundee United.
The former Rangers and Scotland man was Neilson’s No.2 at Tannadice as they led the Tangerines to promotion to the Scottish Premiership last season.
Neilson made the shock return to Gorgie last month and was officially unveiled by the Jambos this week.
But a move for McCulloch was thought to be difficult with him still under contract on Tayside.
However, he walked away from his United deal on Monday night and that appears to have cleared the way for Hearts to move.
Fellow United coach Gordon Forrest could yet join Neilson after the Premiership new boys unveiled former Tranmere Rovers boss Micky Mellon as Neilson’s replacement this week.
Neilson was asked about his plans for his backroom staff at Tynecastle and confirmed he’d be able to bring in additional bodies if he wanted to.
And while he was keen to assess the coaches already at the club, namely former team-mate Andy Kirk and Liam Fox, Record Sport understands McCulloch is on the verge of joining the Hearts coaching staff.
Following his official return to Hearts, Neilson said: “I’ve got a good coaching staff at the moment at Hearts.
“I’ve a number of coaches so I’ll need to assess them before I make a decision on whether to bring people in or not.
“I don’t want to speak about employees at other clubs. I had a great relationship with everyone up there but I’m focused on the guys we’ve got at Hearts.
“It’s up to me what I want to do.”
Meanwhile, former Jambos and Scotland star Davie Weir remains in the running for the role of sporting director at Tynecastle.
More interviews are scheduled for this week and Neilson is looking forward to working with the new incumbent.
He said: “I like working with a sporting director.
“It takes a lot of the load away from me and that’s important for a Saturday to get the team prepared. It also gives me somebody to speak to and bounce off.
“We’ll hopefully be getting somebody into that position but it’s got to be the right person.
“It’s important the manager and sporting director have a good relationship.
“The club are moving forward with that.”
