2025–26 Heart of Midlothian F.C. season

Heart of Midlothian
2025–26 season
ChairmanAnn Budge
ManagerDerek McInnes
StadiumTynecastle Park

The 2025–26 season is the 145th season of competitive football by Heart of Midlothian. It is the club's fifth season of play back in the top tier of Scottish football since 2020, having been promoted from the Scottish Championship at the end of the previous season,[1] having played just one season in the Scottish Championship. The club had been relegated from the Premiership at the end of the 2019–20 season.

They will also compete in the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup.

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Pre-season / Friendlies

2 July 2025 Friendly Heart of Midlothian 1–1 St Mirren Pinatar Arena
Baningime 37' Report Mooney 13'
Note: Closed doors friendly.
4 July 2025 Friendly Heart of Midlothian 3–1 Crawley Town Pinatar Arena
18:00 4 o.g.'
Forrest 20'
Wilson 69'		 Report Flower 21'
Note: Closed doors friendly.
8 July 2025 Friendly East Kilbride 0–8 Heart of Midlothian K-Park Training Academy
19:45 Report Wilson 15'
Braga 22'
Dhanda 57'
Spittal 60'
Kabangu 62', 72'
Drammeh 68'
Kartum 79'
Note: Closed doors friendly.
26 July 2025 Craig Gordon Testimonial Heart of Midlothian v Sunderland Tynecastle Park
15:00
Note: Testimonial match for Craig Gordon

Scottish Premiership

Main article: 2025–26 Scottish Premiership
4 August 2025 Scottish Premiership Heart of Midlothian v Aberdeen Tynecastle Park
20:00

Scottish League Cup

Main article: 2025–26 Scottish League Cup
12 July 2025 1 Heart of Midlothian 4–1 Dunfermline Athletic Tynecastle Park
17:15 Wilson 3'
Shankland 76', 79'
Kingsley 90+1'		 BBC Report Cooper 38' Attendance: 12,940
Referee: Wilson
15 July 2025 2 Hamilton Academical v Heart of Midlothian K-Park Training Academy
19:45
19 July 2025 3 Stirling Albion v Heart of Midlothian Forthbank Stadium
17:15
23 July 2025 4 Heart of Midlothian v Dumbarton Tynecastle Park
19:45

First team player statistics

Captains

No Pos Country Name No of games Notes
1 FW Shankland 1 Team Captain

Last updated: 12 July 2025
Source: Competitive match reports.
Competitive matches only
Matches started as captain only
Country: FIFA nationality; No.: Squad number; P: Position; Name: Player name; No. Games: Number of games started as captain.

Squad information

Last updated 12 May 2025

During the 2025–26 campaign, Hearts have used sixteen players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.

Number Position Nation Name Totals Premiership Scottish Cup League Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2 DF  ENG Frankie Kent 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
3 DF  SCO Stephen Kingsley 1 1 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 1
4 DF  SCO Craig Halkett 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
6 MF  COD Beni Baningime 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
7 FW  BEL Elton Kabangu 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0
8 MF  AUS Calem Nieuwenhof 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0
9 FW  SCO Lawrence Shankland 1 2 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 2
10 FW  POR Cláudio Braga 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
12 DF  NOR Christian Borchgrevink 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0
14 MF  AUS Cameron Devlin 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
16 MF  SCO Blair Spittal 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0
17 MF  SCO Alan Forrest 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
18 DF  SCO Harry Milne 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
21 FW  SCO James Wilson 1 1 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 1
28 GK  SCO Zander Clark 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
31 DF  IRL Oisin McEntee 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
  • Last updated: 12 May 2025
  • Source: Match Reports[2][3]
  • Ordered by Squad Number.

Appearances (starts and substitute appearances) and goals include those in the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup.

Goal scorers

Last updated 12 July 2025

Place Position Nation Name Premiership League Cup Scottish Cup Total
1 FW Lawrence Shankland 0 2 0 2
2 DF Stephen Kingsley 0 1 0 1
FW James Wilson 0 1 0 1
Own goals 0 0 0 0
Total 0 4 0 4

Team statistics

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
4 Dundee United 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round[b]
5 Falkirk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 Heart of Midlothian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Hibernian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 Kilmarnock 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 2 August 2025. Source: [4][5]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only if deciding champion, UEFA competition qualification, second stage group allocation, or relegation).[6]
Notes:
  1. ^ Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
  2. ^ The winners of the 2025–26 Scottish Cup will qualify for the Europa League. If the cup winners finish in the top two, the berth reserved for the cup winners (Europa League third qualifying round) passes to the third-placed team, and the berths for the Conference League second qualifying round are passed down to the fourth- and fifth-placed teams.

League Cup table

Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification HOM HAM DUM STI DNF
1 Heart of Midlothian 1 1 0 0 0 4 1 +3 3 Qualification for the second round — — 23 Jul — 4–1
2 Hamilton Academical 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 +2 3 Possible qualification for the second round 15 Jul — 26 Jul — —
3 Dumbarton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — 15 Jul 19 Jul
4 Stirling Albion 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0 19 Jul 0–2 — — —
5 Dunfermline Athletic 1 0 0 0 1 1 4 −3 0 — 22 Jul — 26 Jul —
Updated to match(es) played on 12 July 2025. Source: [7]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.[8]

Management statistics

Last updated 12 July 2025
Name From To P W D L Win%[note 1]
Derek McInnes 12 July 2025 1 1 0 0 100.00

Home attendances

Last updated on 12 July 2025

  Win   Draw   Loss

Comp Date Score Opponent Attendance
League Cup 12 July 2025 4–1 Dunfermline Athletic 12,940[9]
Total attendance: 12,940
Total league attendance: 0
Average league attendance: 0

Last updated: 12 July 2025
Source: Match reports in Results

Club

Management

On 19 May 2025, Derek McInnes[10] was appointed as Head Coach on a four year contract. [11] He replaced interim Head Coach Liam Fox, who managed the club for the final four games of the previous season.[12][13] McInnes also brought Paul Sheerin and Alan Archibald to Tynecastle, who were previously his First Team coaches at Kilmarnock.[14]

On 30 June, it was announced that Ann Budge would be stepping down as Club Chair in December 2025.[15]

Playing kit

Hearts kits are manufactured by Hummel for the 2025–26 season, replacing Umbro.[16] Hummel agreed a five year deal with the club.[17] Stellar Omada continues as Hearts main sponsor, in the second of a three-year deal.[18]

Transfers

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Win% is the percentage of matches won rounded to two decimal places.
  2. ^ Kabangu was on loan at Hearts from Union SG during the 2024–25 season.[23][24]

References

  1. ^ "Heart of Midlothian: Robbie Neilson's side clinch Championship". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 10 April 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Soccerbase Hearts Squad Stats 2024/25". Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  3. ^ "First Team Sqiad". heartsfc.co.uk/. Heart of Midlothian F.C. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Scottish Premiership Table". BBC.
  5. ^ "Premiership League Table". Scottish Professional Football League.
  6. ^ "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League (Rule Number C35-C37)" (PDF). SPFL. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Summary - League Cup Group E". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  8. ^ "Format". SPFL. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Match Report: Hearts 4-1 Dunfermline Athletic". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 12 July 2025. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Hearts announce McInnes as new head coach". BBC Sport. 19 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  11. ^ "Derek McInnes named Hearts head coach following Kilmarnock exit as boss swaps Scottish Premiership clubs". Sky Sports. 19 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  12. ^ "Fox to leave Hearts as new manager to arrive 'very soon'". BBC Sport. 17 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  13. ^ "Liam Fox fights back tears as he leaves Hearts after a gutsy win at Kilmarnock". Edinburgh Evening News. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  14. ^ "Derek McInnes Appointed Head Coach". Heart of Midlothian F.C. 19 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  15. ^ "Ann Budge to step down at Hearts - why she is leaving, Tony Bloom impact, tributes and what comes next". scotsman.com. The Scotsman. 30 June 2025. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  16. ^ "Hearts throwback to Vladimir Romanov with new kit". Edinburgh Evening News. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  17. ^ "Hummel To Become New Technical Kit Partner". Heart of Midlothian F.C. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  18. ^ "Hearts secure mega-money sponsorship deal as new kit deal makes Tynecastle history". dailyrecord.co.uk. Daily Record. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  19. ^ "Christian Borchgrevink To Join in Summer". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 10 April 2025. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  20. ^ "Hearts make right-back Borchgrevink first summer signing". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 10 April 2025. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  21. ^ "Kyziridis to join Jambos". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  22. ^ "Hearts land first signing of Derek McInnes era as 24 y/o signs three-year deal". scotsman.com. The Scotsman. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  23. ^ "Striker Kabangu joins Hearts on permanent deal". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  24. ^ "Kabangu Joins on Permanent Transfer". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  25. ^ "McEntee Joins Jambos". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 31 May 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  26. ^ "Walsall midfielder McEntee joins Hearts". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 31 May 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  27. ^ "Hearts buy striker Braga from Aalesunds". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 15 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  28. ^ "Salford sign midfielder Grant on two-year deal". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 10 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  29. ^ a b "Grant and McKay to depart Hearts". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 13 May 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  30. ^ a b "Grant & McKay will leave Hearts at end of season". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 13 May 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  31. ^ "Hearts' Penrice completes 'life-changing' AEK move". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 3 July 2025. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  32. ^ "Penrice Moves On". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 5 July 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  33. ^ "Findlay rejoins McInnes on loan to Hearts from Oxford". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 19 June 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  34. ^ "Findlay Joins Jambos On Loan". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 19 June 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  35. ^ "Taits Livi Loan". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  36. ^ "Livingston deal for Hearts midfielder Macaulay Tait - including a key clause". .edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Edinburgh Evening News. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  37. ^ "Neilson's Falkirk Loan". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  38. ^ "Falkirk sign Hearts defender Neilson on season-long loan". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  39. ^ "Liam's Alloa Loan". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  40. ^ "Alloa Athletic sign Hearts goalkeeper Liam McFarlane on loan". alloaadvertiser.com. Alloa Advertiser. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
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