Naismith was 45 minutes away from saving Hearts’ job

“We had hoped – the fans, all of us – that we could turn things around, but it became clear to me and others last weekend that we just weren’t seeing any signs of improvement,” McKinlay said.

“I went into these two games, St Mirren and Ross County, feeling that we needed at least four points and hopefully six.

“That said, if we had lost 2-1 last weekend but had been unlucky or very strong in the second half, or if we had just not put in our best performance, then maybe I would have thought differently, but that was not the case.

“We played very poorly in the second half and that unfortunately left me in no doubt that we had to look for changes.”

McKinlay responded to suggestions that the recent two-year contracts given to Naismith and his assistants “seemed ridiculous and made us look ridiculous”.

However, he said they felt it was only right for the club to exercise the option after finishing third last season, “to give them the stability they asked for”.

Speaking about B team boss Fox, McKinlay said: “He has experience of managing a team at Premier League level so I think he is the right person for this interim period.

“He is also aware that we are looking externally at the longer term and he fully understands that and understands the reasons why we do that.”

As for the timeline for a new appointment, McKinlay indicated it is “a difficult one.”

Although Hearts update their list of potential new managers every two or three months, they have not yet had anyone lined up as a replacement.

“We now have our own lists and we are also working with an analytics company,” he said, noting that there were candidates who had applied and “a significant number of candidates have come in over the last 48 hours.”

“We’ve actually been through a lot in the weeks before, that’s just the nature of football.”

Meanwhile, McKinlay added that sporting director Joe Savage had left this summer “because he wanted some time away from the game, which I completely understood and respected”.

Replacement Graeme Jones, who is currently resigning from the Scottish Football Association, is said to be taking on a slightly different role, with the analytics firm set to play a role in future recruitment drives.