Heart of Midlothian

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Hearts cruised to victory against Premier League opponents Sunderland in goalkeeper Craig Gordon's testimonial.

The Scotland international, and the nation's fourth-most capped player, left Tynecastle in 2007 for Sunderland, who fielded a strong side for their visit to Edinburgh.

Gordon walked out to a guard of honour and started the match, but he left the pitch in a planned substitution with Zander Clark in the opening minute as he continues his recovery from an injury that will keep him sidelined until about October.

Summer signing Claudio Braga headed Hearts in front after 10 minutes, with the forward spurning the chance to add a second before the interval.

Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland side-footed in the host's second just after the hour mark before another summer addition, winger Alexandros Kyziridis, added the third.

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Livingston have signed Aidan Denholm from fellow top-flight club Hearts on a three-year deal.

The 21-year-old midfielder spent the start of last season on loan at Ross County, but his stay in Dingwall was cut short due to injury.

Denholm made his debut for Hearts in 2021, before loan moves to Berwick Rangers, East Fife, and County.

He is on the Livingston bench for their League Cup match with Kelty Hearts.

Heart of Midlothian have made an offer for 22-year-old Valur midfielder Tomas Bent Magnusson. (Hearts Standard), external

Read Saturday's Scottish gossip

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Hearts CEO Andrew McKinlay has paid tribute to outgoing chair Ann Budge and revealed he is not involved in the hunt for her successor.

Budge, who rescued the club from administration in 2014, announced last month she would be stepping down from her role in December.

"I'm not actively involved in bringing in the new chair," McKinlay told Hearts TV.

"As much as it would be nice to decide who my new boss is, it wouldn't be appropriate so that's being led by three of the non-executive directors.

"We've got a little bit of time but we will make an announcement in due course.

"It goes without saying this club owes an incredible debt of gratitude, and all the fans owe Ann an incredible debt of gratitude.

"She was instrumental in bringing the club out of administration in 2014 and I don't think you can overestimate how important she was to that and to the rebuilding of the club.

"She's been instrumental in bringing Tony Bloom to the table and I think she views this now as the time to pass on the baton."

With Bloom having bought a 29% stake in Hearts for £9.86m this summer, McKinlay is excited about the start of another new era at Tynecastle.

Brighton owner Bloom will be in attendance at Tynecastle on 4 August for Hearts' Premiership opener against Aberdeen.

"Isn't it great to see that he's up here immediately to see the games?" McKinlay said.

"He's not someone who doesn't care about what's going on, far from it. He's so invested in Hearts and to have him up here for that game, I think he's looking to go the game at Tannadice the following week as well, it's just brilliant."

Read more: Hearts close to Kabore signing but exits expected

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Stephen Kingsley says there' still room for improvement for Hearts despite breezing through the Premier Sports Cup group stage with a 100% record.

Derek McInnes' side cruised past Dumbarton on Wednesday night to book their spot in the last 16.

Their 4-0 victory was also the fourth successive match the Tynecastle club scored four goals in the competition.

"We've started games well recently, so I think that's a big thing," defender Kingsley said.

"We've scored early in every single one of them, so it was important we did that and kick on.

"I think we can still improve again. I think we can still be better at times and we can definitely be a bit more clinical, but it's good signs.

"That's 16 goals in four games that we've played and one goal conceded, so it's a good sign for us going forward."

Burkina Faso winger Pierre Landry Kabore's transfer from Narva Trans, which should be finalised in a matter of days, will not end Heart of Midlothian's summer business, with head coach Derek McInnes keen to add "a different kind of midfielder". (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external

Read Friday's Scottish gossip

We asked for your views following Hearts' fourth win in the Premier Sports Cup as they secured progression to the second round.

Here's what some of you said:

GB: Why didn't we get Derek McInnes years ago? Sixteen goals already, what a start to a season.

Iain: Next game against Sunderland will tell us much more than all these one-sided contests. I think we've got an age-old problem continuing at Hearts where we seem to prioritise quantity over quality.

I don't think we have enough of the latter and Hearts fans are kidding themselves if they think otherwise.

Tom: Best display yet in a game where we showed intensity throughout. Not the finished group yet but definite signs that the basis of a coherent successful group is coming together.

Another plus is four competitive games now in the players which should help when the league matches start with Aberdeen on 4 August.

David: Another good performance without really getting into top gear to round off a successful group campaign.

Claudio Braga and Alexandros Kyziridis look like exciting signings. Stuart Findlay has looked solid while Cammy Devlin and James Wilson have both done well. Looking forward to the start of the league games.

Tom: New signings look great but we haven't faced a team yet that will put us under pressure. We won't really know how good this squad is until we play league games. The style of play that McInnes has introduced is more direct and more exciting to watch.

Craig: So many options in the final third and we await more! If you want a game for Hearts you will have to be on it. So much better than previous seasons.

Ian: Lawrence Shankland offers more playing as a number nine up front. Last season he was played deeper but back up front he's back to his best.

Kyle: Huge spells of dominance throughout the game and performed well across all four matches as expected, it's good to build towards the league campaign.

Alfo: Another third-gear win for Hearts. The new signings are technically strong players and their direct play is easy on the eye.

But the surprise package was Cammy Devlin, who's controlled performance and measured passing was in total contrast to his Tasmanian devil-type ankle-biting displays of previous seasons. Picking a first choice team from this squad will be no easy task for McInnes.

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Derek McInnes was pleased Hearts managed to avoid a "crisis" and safely ensure their passage into the second round of the Premier Sports Cup.

Hearts finished up their group campaign with a win against Dumbarton to preserve their 100% record and netted four goals for the fourth game running.

Claudio Braga made it three goals in three games, while fellow summer signing Alexandros Kyziridis made it two from two.

Lawrence Shankland had headed the hosts in front, with Michael Steinwender nodding home in first-half stoppage time.

"It kind of had that friendly feel about it," McInnes told club media.

"I think it's been such a hot night, I've made nine changes, so I'm a wee bit disappointed that we didn't do quite a lot of what we wanted to do.

"But I think the team picked was probably the wrong team, in the sense that we needed at least one winger to be playing in that first half, but we were trying to manage everybody's minutes, trying to give everybody a bit of encouragement.

"That said, I thought we had some good moments. I thought we arrived, we put ourselves in a position where we could have done that a wee bit more. We had three strikers on the pitch, and each of them had chances to score throughout.

"So, I think all in all, 2-0, getting into half-time, the game was quite comfortable in a sense, but I thought we were far better when we got our wingers on.

"We started to play with a wee bit more fluency and we could have added to the four goals.

"But, four goals is good night's work, it's been a pattern in this group and the intention was to win the group and come through with that seed, and that's what we've done.

"We all know how important it is to win these games, because if you don't then there's a crisis there and you start soul-searching.

"So, the players deserve a lot of credit that they've been professional enough and the approach has been spot-on."

Hearts agreed a fee of £120,000 to sign 23-year-old Albanian winger Sabah Kerjota from Italian third-tier club Sambenedettese on Tuesday. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Hearts have signed Albian winger Sabah Kerjota on a three-year-deal from Italian Serie C side US Sambenedettese.

The attacker made 34 appearances in the Italian fourth division last term where he scored 10 goals and provided 11 assists, helping Sambenedettese to the league title and with it promotion to Serie C.

"I'm pleased that we've been able to bring Sabah in to give us more options on the wings," head coach Derek McInnes told club media.

"He's had a really productive few seasons in Italy and although Scottish football will be a new experience for him, we've seen attributes that we feel can make him a success here.

"Sabah will need to do a bit of fitness work to bring him up to speed but I'm looking forward to seeing him on the pitch once he's ready."

Livingston are in pole position to land 21-year-old midfielder Aidan Denholm from Hearts despite Scottish Premiership rivals Motherwell also being keen along with Championship pair Ross County and St Johnstone. (Daily Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Summer signing Oisin McEntee is enjoying settling into life at Hearts and is happy to serve head coach Derek McInnes wherever he sees fit.

McEntee, who joined from Walsall has been deployed at right-back in Hearts' unbeaten start to their Premier Sports group stage, despite it not being his "most natural" position.

He impressed in Saturday's 4-0 win against Stirling Albion as the Tynecastle side attempt to create "good habits".

"It was always going to be a difficult game," McEntee said of their meeting with the Binos.

"We came into it prepared right and we showed them a lot of respect coming in with our preparation and it's just good to get a 4-0 win.

"But we're a little bit frustrated. We need to improve on a lot of things, but still, you can't complain about winning 4-0.

"We're trying to get into good habits and keeping clean sheets is a really good habit, as is winning games. So we just need to keep switched on and keep preparing properly for these games.

"I'll play wherever the gaffer puts me.

"It's enjoyable and it's been a good introduction into the side. I'm just trying my best to get a place in the team and wherever it may be.

"It's not my most natural position, but wherever the gaffer wants me to play, I just need to improve on it - I'm trying my best."

Hearts' 21-year-old midfielder, Aidan Denholm, is wanted by Livingston, Motherwell and Ross County. (Joel Sked on X), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Head coach Derek McInnes was encouraged by the goalscoring debut of winger Alexandros Kyziridis in Hearts' four-goal Premier Sports Cup win at Stirling.

The 24-year-old Greek player set up Craig Halkett's headed opener and scored himself following Alan Forrest's cross.

"You see what he is, I think he's capable of moments when he holds his width and he's really incisive and makes his mind up early," McInnes told Premier Sports.

"Like a lot of wide players, decision-making is where they are judged. I thought he did a lot of good, considering it was his first game.

"He was in the right area to score a goal. He should have been in the right area before that to score another goal. But he did some good things."

Fellow summer signing Claudio Braga scored a diving header before Kyziridis put Hearts three up by the break, but McInnes was expecting more in the second half before Halkett headed in his second goal late on.

"We played some good stuff in the first half, but I'd like us to be better than that for long spells," added McInnes, whose side all but sealed their place in the second round.

We asked for your views after Derek McInnes' Hearts cruised to another Premier Sports Cup victory at lower-league Stirling.

Here's what some of you said:

Norrie: Went to the game, fantastic following with three stands full of Hearts fans. We once again started really well and if it hadn't been for a couple of smart saves from their keeper in the first half this could have been a much greater scoreline. Three games now without VAR and what a difference to the flow of the game and the mood of the crowd. Bin VAR and give us our game back!

Stuart: Hearts impressed first half but were flat after the break. Oisin McEntee was pushed wide right after the break which left Cammy Devlin to shore up midfield on his own, and consequently the defence struggled to find the right ball forward. Hearts looked good on the flanks but lacked a spark in the middle up front, although Claudio Braga looked lively as did James Wilson when he came on.

Jim: I still feel McInnes is trying to sort out his best XI before the league season gets under way. There have been a lot of new signings and this cup section against weaker teams gives him the time to sort out his strongest team, his best system, but also builds a bit of confidence - successive wins always do that. The real test will come when Aberdeen visit Tynecastle at the beginning of August. I think we have a very good chance of challenging for the league and the cups, but do the players believe that and are they hungry enough to seriously challenge the Old Firm?

Alfo: Cracking start to the season from the JTs. Every player that comes on to the pitch knows they've a point to prove if they want to keep the jersey. Unlike last year, can't see us carrying any deadwood as someone else will step up and once the other wingers arrive we're in for a great season.

Chris: It's easy to look at these games as easy against lower division teams, but then being a Jambo I've watched us struggle for years against these types of teams. The first half was just dominance of speed, passing and movement and we could have been six up going into half time. The second half levels dropped but remained professional. It all depends if we can keep this level going up against a very solid Aberdeen side in a few weeks.

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Lawrence Shankland staying at Hearts is "one of the best things" for fellow striker James Wilson says he could have wished for.

Wilson, 18, admits he was "buzzing" when "one of the best players in Scotland" ended a season of speculation by signing a new three-year deal with the Tynecastle club earlier this month.

"I learn so much from him day to day," Wilson said.

"I ask him so many questions. Getting to play with him, he's one of the best players in Scotland. So getting to play with him is one of the best things that I could have.

"Yes, I was buzzing when he decided to stay."

Shankland marked his return with a pair of late penalties in last Saturday's Premier Sports Cup group stage opener against Dunfermline, while Wilson opened the scoring.

Fellow frontman Claudio Braga, who made his debut at Tynecastle, followed that with his first goal in Tuesday night's win at Hamilton after teeing up Wilson for his second goal in as many games.

"He's a good figure in the group, he's enthusiastic, he really enjoys being here," Wilson said of his Portuguese team-mate.

"I'm looking forward to playing with him more and he got the assist from me on Tuesday, so I was really happy for that.

"It's a good confidence booster for us. As a striker, you can play well, but if you don't score a goal, you're a bit disappointed.

"Whereas on the flip side, I didn't think I played very well on Tuesday, but I came away with a goal and I'm quite happy. That's just the life of a striker. You have to deal with that."

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Two wins, eight goals scored and just one conceded. It has been a smooth start to Derek McInnes' reign and the Hearts boss is determined to keep the momentum rolling.

Hearts travel to Stirling Albion on Saturday seeking a third straight victory in Group E of the Premier Sports Cup.

Having opened with a 4-1 dispatching of Dunfermline at Tynecastle, McInnes' first away assignment was a 4-0 stroll at Hamilton on Tuesday night.

Sizing up their next task, McInnes said: "These games away from home can always be a bit trickier, but if your approach is right and if we can mirror a lot of what we've had in the last couple of games, then hopefully we can get a similar outcome.

"We want to try and be as polished and as clean as we can through the League Cup stages.

"Again, we just try and impose ourselves on the game. Whatever team we're playing, whatever shape we're up against, try and impose ourselves on that and try and make sure we carry a goal threat.

"The clean sheet against Hamilton was very important for us. We want to try and get more of that in the upcoming games, including Saturday."

McInnes is thrilled by the backing his team have received from the stands so far and says a strong connection with the fanbase is key to restoring Hearts' fortunes.

"It's important we try and get a winning Hearts team often this season, because when the fans are with the team and there's that connection, then it's clearly going to help matters," he added.

"They need to see a Hearts team willing to play properly. They need to see a Hearts team willing to run hard for them. A Hearts team always try to win the game."

We asked for your thoughts after Hearts continued their perfect start to the Premier Sports Cup campaign with a 4-0 win over Hamilton Academical.

Here's what you had to say:

John: I was at Broadwood, and actually thought that Accies played well, against a decent Hearts side who showed a touch of class at the business end. I think Hearts can pose a challenge to the big two this year, and Accies can bounce back to the Championship.

Alfo: We'll have much tougher tests than this but we cruised through the game with another four goals scored. All our forwards carry a threat and are up for it but Claudio Braga's exuberant playing style is infectious, can't wait to see us when we've gelled as unit.

Chris: It's hard to tell much at this stage, the competition isn't great but what I do know is we wouldn't be playing this well under Critchley. The energy is good, the time is taking shape and the morale seems high - baby steps but eight goals in two games is fantastic.

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Head coach Derek McInnes hailed a "magnificent" Hearts debut from Stuart Findlay in Tuesday's 4-0 League Cup group win over Hamilton at Broadwood.

The centre-back, who has been brought to Tynecastle this summer after playing under McInnes at Kilmarnock, scored the opener from a corner.

There were further strikes from Elton Kabangu, James Wilson and Claudio Braga, with the Portuguese attacker also getting goal his first for the Gorgie side.

But McInnes singled out Findlay for praise, telling BBC Scotland: "Great debut for him. I thought he was magnificent. He strolled it all game, to be honest."

Meanwhile, Findlay was delighted to get on the scoresheet and told Hearts' official X account: "I went the full season last year without getting one, so to open my account after five minutes was a nice touch.

"We put a good bit of work into set-plays this week, I knew my job was to try to get around that back area and when we've got Blair Spittal on the park, he's going to deliver the ball, he's going to give you that service.

"I was just lucky enough that it landed on my head and was able to put it away."

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Who had Lee Johnson and Robbie Neilson working together in Belgium on their 2025 bingo card?

Former Hibs boss Johnson is now head coach of Belgian second-tier side Lommel, part of the City Football Group, and ex-Hearts manager Neilson has joined his staff.

Earlier this summer, Neilson expressed interest in the vacant roles at Dundee and Motherwell before both Scottish Premiership clubs appointed new managers.

The former Hearts right-back was sacked by Tampa Bay Rowdies in April.

Johnson, meanwhile, had a short stint at Fleetwood following his Hibs exit and was appointed Lommel boss in March.