Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes last night admitted there had been another transfer bid for his star defender Scott McKenna with Championship clubs Queen’s Park Rangers and Nottingham Forest still keen to lure the player south.

But McInnes, both relieved and delighted his side navigated their way to a punishing 3-2 win over Hearts at Pittodrie, revealed the offers didn’t match the undisclosed sum the Dons seek.

“There was a fresh offer,” he said. “I don’t know if there was a written offer from Nottingham Forest but there certainly was from QPR on Friday and clearly it was not enough. It was a slight increase [on the reported £3m offer last week]and it was structured in a certain way but it was not enough for the club to accept.

“Scott’s had a lot to contend with but his performances have been great. It’s up to the buying club to make my chairman think differently but as it stands Scott will remain with us.”

McInnes, who’ll lead his men into a Europa League third round qualifier against HRK Rijeka in Croatia on Thursday, described the encounter with the Jambos as “a cracking game” after their 5-0 win in last Thursday Europa League tie against Chikhura Sachkhere, won without injured defenders Mikey Devlin, Ash Taylor and midfielder Craig Bryson.

“We had quality, speed and we got their goal when Sam took advantage of hesitation and supplied a nice finish.

“When we play Hearts it’s often stop start. You could see the strength of the Hearts squad with Steven Naismith and Conor Washington coming off the bench. Naismith did what he’s done all his career and gambled and scored.”

For hearts boss Craig Levein, there was little to be cheerful about after his team surrendered a 2-1 lead late in the game.

“I find it difficult to be positive about the future when I am sitting here feeling like I’ve been punched in the guts,” he said.

“We’ve been beaten but we did not deserve to lose the match. We did enough to get a draw. We were on top until the sending off.

“There was plenty going on today that’s for sure. We should be talking about the good things we did rather than ruing some of our decision making.”