Former Rangers hero and three-time title winner Steven Naismith has been linked with a sensational return to Scottish Premiership management with Kilmarnock, according to reports from the Daily Record. Naismith, who recorded 33 goals and 30 assists at Ibrox between 2007 and 2012, started his professional career with Killie and played at Rugby Park for four years before moving to Glasgow. He also played for the likes of Everton and Norwich City while winning 51 caps for Scotland at international level while also scoring 10 international goals. Naismith ended his career at Hearts and went on to manage the Edinburgh side for a year and four months before being sacked from his position in September 2024. Naismith has been out of work for around eight months yet it could be his former side that hands him a route back into professional management. Hearts parted ways with former Blackpool and QPR boss and Neil Critchley after six months and 35 matches across all competitions. Critchley left his role on 26 April despite winning the Manager of the Month award only three months prior. He was generally praised for getting the club away from the relegation places after a lacklustre start but failed to build on that momentum and came under scrutiny after losing two Edinburgh derbies and seeing his side finish in the bottom half of the league table. The 46-year-old’s exit leaves the capital side searching for a new manager and the Tynecastle side have recently made an approach to hire Derek McInnes from Kilmarnock. McInnes will take Killie against Motherwell on Tuesday night but after that is expected to make the switch to Edinburgh. "I'm led to believe that the clubs agreed terms yesterday," McInnes said. "Discussions are ongoing from that." Steven Naismith, who left his post as head coach of Hearts earlier this season, is very much in the equation for the Kilmarnock job, according to reports from the Daily Record. Naismith had a record of 28 wins, 12 draws and 25 losses at Hearts, giving him an overall win percentage of 43.1%. In his only full season in the capital, he steered the team to a third place finish while reaching the semi-finals of both cup competitions. His team claimed two victories over eventual champions Celtic during the season and an impressive 3-3 draw with Rangers. However, results quickly unravelled in the early part of this season and after picking up just one point from their opening six and losing eight games in a row across all competitions, Naismith was dismissed from his post. Kilmarnock are currently ninth in the league table but have already secured their status in the top-flight for a 13th consecutive season. They have been managed by McInnes since 2021 and earned European qualification last term with an exceptional fourth place finish. Read More: Feyenoord could hijack Rangers transfer push as Celtic drops ‘everything is open' transfer hint