Boss Vrancken reveals plans for all things in Hearts’ future
His tenure is still at an embryonic stage, but Wouter Vrancken is building a decent impression of the Hearts squad here in Spain.
He saw his players in action for the first time in Wednesday’s closeddoor friendly win against St Mirren, and continues to assess them during training sessions in blazing temperatures.
The Belgian likes what he sees. He is enthusiastic about the talent available to him, with players like Landry Kabore, new signing Amadou BaSy, Stuart Findlay and Eduardo Ageu still to get involved. They will feature in friendly matches against Livingston and Rayo Vallecano.
Vrancken knows time is short until Hearts’ first competitive game on July 21 – the Champions League second qualifying round first leg against Sturm Graz in Austria. The new manager has taken plenty of mental notes on Hearts players so far.
“There are a lot of leaders, I think, especially in defence, but also guys who maybe didn't play too much last year. Like (Rogers) Mato, for example, was pretty okay [against St Mirren]. James (Wilson) did well when he came in at the second half.
"It's a general good feeling I have. Then we'll see how it goes and who can push a little bit more and make a difference there. I think three players weren't playing who were normally really good players in the squad.”
Hearts have signed eight new players so far this summer and Vrancken is not ruling out the possibility of more.
“We saw Elton and James [against St Mirren], but Landry and Ba-Sy are still coming. We have to see what they bring to make a decent evaluation. I think it's a little bit of looking everywhere. Also, the players are still thinking a lot. So you cannot kill them in 45 minutes. You see the intentions are really good.
“Sometimes some guys are out of position also. Like Oisin [McEntee in] central defence. Maybe [Sander] Kartum and [Yan] Danda want to play a little bit higher, but they did really okay on the positions where they were. So, there is a little bit of adapting. New players like [Sabri] Guendouz have to find each other, find the connections there. So it's difficult to say now what we need extra. I think the squad is already big now so we have to see what the situation is after a few weeks.”
One area he is certain on is the need for more matches to prepare Hearts for domestic and European assignments this season.
“We want to play some extra games. We'll see what it brings, what is possible and what the programme can fit,” said Vrancken. “The minutes are very important for players. Like you saw, you need the minutes to find the connections and perform well. So, as much as possible, we want these friendlies to build in the preparation. It cannot be too much because also we have to manage a little bit of fatigue. It's a balance but I think we'll probably play a few games.
A decision on who replaces Lawrence Shankland as Hearts captain will be made in the coming weeks.
“Like I said, there are a lot of potential leaders and potential captains. For me, it's not important who wears the armband. I don't want to change too much there when things go well,
There are a lot of leaders, I think, especially in defence, but also guys who maybe didn't play too much last year
so we didn't make it official yet. In the friendly you saw, it was (Stephen) Kingsley and Jamie (McCart) in each half. We discussed it a little bit, we talked a little bit, but nothing official yet.”
The structure of this training camp has been precise and deliberate. Players are enduring up to three sessions each day but were given a rest on Thursday afternoon.
“As much as possible, we load in the morning because you feel the heat during the day,” explained Vrancken. “We try putting the load in the morning and see that things are done. The second session, most of the time, is something inside, like a lot of gym and stuff like this. And there was a free afternoon to break the week a little bit."
Vrancken’s ideas for Hearts are already being embedded. The aggressive, high-tempo display against St Mirren was just the start. There is still a significant amount of work to do.
“In the first season, I hope to put in the football we want to see as quick as possible,” said the manager. “What I noticed yesterday is that they want to play football but don't overdo it. You want to play from the back but play from the back and don’t take stupid risks. I think it was a good balance. If it’s not the moment to try to play it, then we have to search it a bit longer. So this is very good that we found this balance and let's hope that we can keep the balance also.
"We have to read the situations there, but I like to try to have the football in place as soon as possible. And then it's also with the results. Like I said before the session started, we want to be annoying the Glasgow teams, trying to hurt them somewhere and trying to overachieve ourselves in how we do things and how we play football.”
He has done it before several times in his homeland.
“At Sint-Truiden, when I came in, it was in April 2025 and we were fighting against relegation,” he recalled. “Then when you pick up soon and when you believe in the things you are doing, you'll be comfortable in what you do and you'll see the connections.
"Then you see the second season how the players react after those few months. We were third in the league and made it a historic season. It's not always going like this, but let's hope that we can do something similar.
"In Belgium it's obvious there is Club Brugge – a little bit [like] Celtic, a lot of money, more than every club in the league. But they're not invincible so I think we can do good things.
"It starts with us. Just believe in what you're doing.”