Stuart Findlay says it was a no-brainer to reunite with Derek McInnes after the defender completed his loan switch to Tynecastle Park.
The towering centre-back arrives in Gorgie with a wealth of experience under his belt, both in British football and overseas, but became synonymous with Kilmarnock where he enjoyed initial success under Steve Clarke before forming a fruitful relationship with McInnes.
Crediting the boss with the rejuvenation of his career, Stuart hopes to return the favour and bring more good memories to his time at Tynecastle.
“The club itself is obviously massive,” he told Hearts TV.
“It's a club that I've played against, a stadium I’ve played at many times and it's a fantastic place to play football. Doubled up with the fact there's a manager here who I know believes in me, and a manager who I believe in as well. We've got a good working relationship and that's something I'm really excited to try and take on into this new chapter in my career.
“I've had a lot of experience with different aspects of football. I've had some down moments when you're not playing as much, and you learn how to come back from that.
“I went to Kilmarnock under Derek McInnes and he really helped me to discover my form after a couple years of not playing.
“The manager knows how to get the best out of me and I know what he expects from his team. I know what he expects day in and day out, and I hope to bring that to this club and make sure we're as successful as we can possibly be.”
With just over a week to go until the Jambos jet off to Spain for a warm weather training camp, and a Premier Sports Cup campaign kicking off shortly after, there won’t be much of a bedding in period for our new recruit.
Comfortable he can handle this fast paced start to life in maroon, Stuart revealed what he’s most looking forward to about life as a Jambo.
“I'm looking forward to having success on the park, I think coming to a club like Hearts you expect success, I can't wait for the first day to walk out and have the fans be supporting me for a change,” he smiled.
“The cup games are going to be important for us. There's going to be a lot of new players, a new look to the squad, so to have some competitive games to kick us off right from the start, I think it'll stand us in good stead going into the league campaign.
“I can't wait to get in, get pre-season started, a week away with the boys get to know all the other guys and start to grow a bit of a bond.
“Hopefully we can show up in the park in that first game against Dunfermline and show what we're going to be all about for the season.”
