Heart of Midlothian forward Kenneth Vargas says he returned to former club Herediano on loan as he needed game time to retain his Costa Rica place at an important point in World Cup qualifying. (Edinburgh Evening News), external
Image source, SNSHearts have entered into a cooperation agreement with Scottish League 1 side Montrose.
As part of the partnership, 18-year-old midfielder Gus Stevenson will join the Links Park side on loan.
Stevenson has made seven appearances for Hearts B team in the Lowland League this season, scoring two goals and three assists.
The agreement comes following the introduction of a Scottish FA initiative earlier this year, which aims to improve the development of young domestic talent.
Hearts have already agreed cooperation agreements with St Johnstone and Spartans.
'I threw a punch, then he threw a punch'
Former Hearts defender and manager Robbie Neilson recounts how a team bonding trip to the go-karting ended up in a fist fight between himself and goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
The win at Ibrox created headlines across the nation, with the main focus on how long Russell Martin can survive at Rangers. However, Hearts' victory should be heralded.
Back in August 2014, goals from Osman Sow and Danny Wilson secured a rare 2-1 victory for the Tynecastle club at Ibrox - the last time Hearts fans truly enjoyed their trip along the M8.
That 11-year wait was ended in fine style on Saturday. The two goals from Lawrence Shankland were proof the striker is getting back to his best, but there were plenty of other positives for Derek McInnes and his backroom team, providing real optimism moving forward.
The ability to switch systems is a huge plus, as this has been an issue in the past. Defensively, Craig Halkett looks as strong as ever after long-running injury issues, and his partnership with Stuart Findlay has caught the eye.
Harry Milne showed at the weekend he has real versatility in his game, while the tenacious Claudio Braga once again caused the opposition countless problems.
The players are also now showing a belief they can perform at this level, and the mindset within the squad looks incredibly strong - not something you could have said in recent seasons.
Unbeaten so far in 90 minutes this season - with the only blip being a penalty shootout loss to St Mirren in the League Cup - Hearts fans are now looking upwards rather than nervously over their shoulders.
A bounce game this week against Ayr United was useful in giving those who haven't featured as much some valuable game-time.
The next two league games are back at Tynecastle, with Falkirk first up a week on Saturday.
A win would keep the pressure on at the top of the table, and with an Edinburgh derby to follow seven days later, the importance of maintaining an unbeaten run going into that match cannot be underestimated.
Image source, SNSWe asked for your views on Claudio Braga after the Portuguese forward's impressive start to his Hearts career.
Here's what some of you said:
Jim: The appointment of a good manager, signing of quality players and retention of key players give all supporters a feeling of genuine positive progress. Braga has been a revelation and it surely is no coincidence that we are finding the net and Lawrence Shankland is scoring again with his addition. I still have a concern our unsettled defensive set-up will be penalised by sharper attacking teams, but as long as we score more goals than our opponents then all will be fine.
Steve: Braga has lit up the forward line and is a big hit with the fans and an exciting player. Stuart Findlay has given the defence a more solid look, but I feel that Ageu could be a revelation. Only one appearance as a substitute, he just looked different class. Exciting times under Derek McInnes.
Dave K: Braga is definitely the pick of our signings so far. Alexandros Kyziridis and Findlay have been great too, but Braga has been the star both on and off the pitch. A brilliant find. There are still several signings that we've not seen much of yet. Ageu is the one I'm most looking forward to seeing more of. If he lives up to his record fee Braga might have some competition. Exciting times!
Norrie: While Braga has been a fantastic addition there are a number of players who are contributing to a really good start. When players like Kyziridis can say after the game against Livingston that the manager decides the team and he will come on and do his part when called on, that can only be a positive in how the team is being coached. Findlay is another who has settled really well and along with his play in attack at set-pieces it gives yet even more options. What a change to last year when Shankland was carrying it all on his shoulders, loved his celebration after the penalty!
Tom: Braga is great to watch and totally gets our club. Having Shankland in the team, supplying good balls, keeps Braga in the game. His energy, along with other new recruits, has lifted the tempo of our play. Great thing is he will only get better when Ageu and Christian Borchgrevink are fit.
Image source, Getty ImagesKenneth Vargas (left) is a regular starter with Costa Rica
Kenneth Vargas has returned to former club Herediano from Hearts on loan until January.
The 23-year-old forward has not featured for the Scottish Premiership club this season under new head coach Derek McInnes - despite scoring for Costa Rica in this month's 3-3 World Cup qualifying draw at home to Haiti.
Defending champions Herediano currently sit sixth in the country's top flight.
Vargas, capped 18 times for his country, first joined Hearts from Herediano in August 2023 on loan before signing a five-year contract the following March.
He made 42 appearances last season, scoring four times, but 20 of them were as a substitute.
Talks earlier this year between Hearts and Cammy Devlin to extend the midfielder's contract beyond next summer have not been followed up and head coach Derek McInnes says the Edinburgh club need a sign that the 27-year-old wants to commit his future to them. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external
Martin Watt
BBC Sport Scotland
Claudio Braga was described as an "exciting signing" when Hearts boss Derek McInnes landed one of his "top targets" in June.
The Portuguese forward has wasted little time in living up to his billing.
With Jamestown Analytics driving Hearts' recruitment, Braga was identified and plucked from the relative obscurity of Norway's second tier.
He eased into action with three goals in four appearances against lower-league opposition in the League Cup group phase, and has seamlessly become an important cog in the slick Hearts machine that is keeping pace with Celtic at the top of the Premiership table.
The 25-year-old may not have been on the scoresheet in the long-awaited win at Ibrox last weekend, but his influence was unquestionable. The highlight was a lovely pass that unlocked the Rangers defence and found Lawrence Shankland to set Hearts on their way to a 2-0 victory.
Post match, Shankland hailed his team-mate's "really intelligent" work and said their on-field "connection" is improving.
That was Braga's first league assist to go with his three goals so far, a strike tally bettered only by Dundee United's Ivan Dolcek. Braga has twice been denied by the woodwork.
A dig through the Opta stats further illustrates Braga's impact. He has had the most shots (14), shots on target (7), big chances (6) and touches in the opposition box (32) of any player in the Premiership.
Perhaps he could brush up on his finishing - he is slightly underperforming his expected goals (xG) of 3.19 and has missed four big chances.
But that shows the potential is there for even better to come and Braga has already shown versatility and coolness in front of goal - scoring one with his left foot, one with his right, and one with his head.
McInnes' team is no one-man show, though. Fellow new arrivals Alexandros Kyziridis and Stuart Findlay have also caught the eye while Oisin McEntee has been quietly effective.
Hearts fans, is Braga the pick of the bunch? Does his form hold the key to the club's hopes of success this season?
Greg Playfair
Fan writer
Ibrox had long been considered a fortress whenever Hearts rolled into town, but we delivered a performance brimming with passion, resilience and confidence to record our first victory in Govan in over 11 years.
When the line-ups were announced and left-back Harry Milne was deployed at right midfield, I thought Derek McInnes must have had a few beers on the team bus. But that bold call was one of several that McInnes got right on the day.
Oisin McEntee at right-back, Alexander Schwolow thrown in between the sticks for his debut, and a return to a 4-4-2 formation – every decision McInnes made paid off.
Hearts' performance in that first 45 minutes was genuinely the best I've ever seen us play at Ibrox. There was crunching tackles - every 50-50 would turn into an 80-20 in our favour - dogged pressing and threatening efforts at Jack Butland's goal following fluid patterns of play from midfield to our strikers.
You can't get away from the fact there were three big VAR decisions and Hearts benefitted on all of them, starting with Lawrence Shankland's goal which should have been ruled out for a handball.
Rangers' effort at goal ought have been awarded and Schwolow should have been stronger under pressure, but thankfully we all know goalkeepers are overprotected.
Hearts' penalty was, for me, awarded correctly. There is contact on Milne from Mohamed Diomande and I don't think we will ever get a hat-trick of big decisions given in our favour again in Glasgow.
I know some bookmakers now have Hearts as favourites to finish second, but our objective must still third. We can't get carried away after one win against a poor Rangers side, who will presumably benefit from the 'new manager bounce' whenever they sack gaffer Russell Martin.
This season we have to aim to pick up at least 10 points from 24 versus the Old Firm. That should mean at least one win and two draws in four games against each side, which would be massively encouraging in our efforts to bridge the gap.
The most frustrating thing following the victory is we now have a free weekend - due to our League Cup defeat to St Mirren last month - and cannot continue the momentum.
All things considered, Jambos are pleased with the start to life under McInnes in the Tony Bloom era. There is something likeable about this team at the moment.
Hearts head coach Derek McInnes reveals even his own son questioned the merits of Harry Milne being deployed wide on the right against Rangers, which proved crucial in the Tynecastle side's win at Ibrox on Saturday. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external
Meanwhile, McInnes praises the endeavour of forward Elton Kabangu to fight for his place at Hearts. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external
Image source, SNSWatch the Sportscene team discuss Hearts' potential as title challengers following their 2-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox, their first in Govan since 2014.
Image source, SNSCraig Gordon insists he is up for the fight to reclaim the gloves for Hearts and Scotland after the veteran goalkeeper returned to full training.
The 42-year-old was number one for both club and country last term but has not played since early May after suffering a slipped disc in his neck.
In his absence, Zander Clark, Ryan Fulton and Alexander Schwolow been in action for Hearts, while Angus Gunn started Scotland's two World Cup qualifiers against Denmark and Belarus.
With Liam McFarlane and Harry Stone also available to Tynecastle head coach Derek McInnes, Gordon told club media: "There's certainly a fair few goalies in the squad.
"It's an interesting situation of how all those guys are going to fit into a squad because there's only one of us that can play and there's going to be a number of goalies unhappy.
"We have to work hard in training and do as much as we can to try and get ourselves in the team and when we're there, try and take that opportunity to stay there.
"I just need to keep training well and try and get in the manager's thoughts to get a start, and that's all I can do.
"Just keep doing everything I possibly can to show that I'm the one that the manager should be picking and that's the same for all of us, so, it's going to be good competition and we'll see how it goes."
Gordon made his 81st international appearance in the 3-0 home loss to Greece in March.
Asked if a return to Steve Clarke's squad for the remaining four games of World Cup qualification was in his thoughts, Gordon replied: "Yeah, absolutely.
"We've made a good start with four points from the first two games so we put ourselves in a good position.
"I'd love to be back involved with that team. But, firstly, I need to make sure I'm doing well here and training well and give myself that opportunity to be selected."
Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter
Hearts continued their superb start to the season with a 2-0 win at Rangers on Saturday and have three players in my team of the week.
Alexander Schwolow made his debut at Ibrox and the 33-year-old can be proud of his clean sheet. Perhaps not wholly convincing for Rangers' disallowed goal but made several key saves as Hearts secured a famous win.
Harry Milne started at right-back against Rangers, underlining his versatility. The former Partick Thistle man continued his impressive start to the season by winning the penalty that sealed the win.
Head coach Derek McInnes described Lawrence Shankland's performance as a "masterclass".
Two goals to sink Rangers and the Scotland international looks revived under McInnes' management.
Watch all the highlights as Hearts picked up their first win at Ibrox since 2014 with a 2-0 victory over Rangers.
Image source, SNSLawrence Shankland scored Hearts two goals at Ibrox
Former Hearts and Rangers player Steven Naismith on BBC Sportsound: "A perfect performance from Hearts.
"Watching the game, they looked like the home team and the team in a control, the ones who picked the right moments to attack. But a lot of that comes down to the recruitment.
"The game was never end to end, at no point did they really look exposed and that's credit to the new recruitment team.
"It was a Derek McInnes performance, out of possession really hard to beat, everyone working for the team and they carried a threat right to the end. They could've had a third goal right at the end.
"Lawrence Shankland and Claudio Braga up top are a brilliant combination. The first goal epitomises that but throughout the whole game, it was a brilliant performance.
"The performance shows exactly what they can do."
We asked for your views on Hearts 2-0 victory against Rangers, which saw Lawrence Shankland score a double at Ibrox.
Here's what some of you said...
Derek: Three points at Ibrox, a rare sight for Hearts but a very welcome one! Rangers have been a stumbling block for us recently and at times it feels like we're just cursed against the Old Firm. How many cup finals and semis have we lost to one of the ugly sisters? A win's a win though! Some folk will say Hearts had it easy against a weak Rangers side but at the end of the day we won, and that's all that I can ask.
Ralph: It's been a long time coming. Hearts performance today was spot on, although Rangers were slightly better in the second half in patches. Not one failure in the Hearts team today. It was the best Hearts team I have watched. Since 2014 at Ibrox, bring on Celtic in a few weeks time.
Stewart: Fantastic performance from Hearts, I honestly could not fault one player in that squad today. Everyone gave everything and Rangers can count themselves lucky it was only two. Yes Rangers might be awful but you still have to go to Ibrox and do the business and we duly did. Extra shout to Shankland for his two goals but overall everyone Fantastic great team performance! Bring on Celtic!
Steven: It's a difficult one to gauge, it's a good three points but Rangers are so poor. The thing to remember is this is just the beginning for Derek McInnes and Tony Bloom. And it's the very beginning in a bright future for Heart of Midlothian.
Jim: Let's not get carried away just yet, it was a very good performance from Hearts against a poor Rangers side and a few dodgy refereeing decisions went our way for once. If we can get positive results, wins against Hibernian and Celtic as well as Falkirk then I will begin to believe we have more than an even chance of at least finishing second and maybe a Scottish Cup win. We have a well balanced squad who look eager to win every week and with Craig Gordon and Ageu still to come back competition for places is keen. Things are looking very promising.
James: At last Hearts go to Ibrox and play to our strengths and belief. A great result now let's make sure we keep that belief for the rest of the season.
Peter: Tenacity, skill and belief won us that game, with a slice of good fortune flung in for good measure. Rangers looked fairly poor but Hearts helped them to seem like that. Confidence is rising in what is a strong group at Hearts, manager and team.
Image source, SNSRussell Martin is under more pressure after defeat by Derek McInnes' side
Derek McInnes described under-pressure Rangers counterpart Russell Martin as "a fine man, a fine manager" as his Hearts side ended an 11-year wait for a win at Ibrox amid chants from the stands for the home head coach to be sacked.
Martin insisted afterwards that he had no intention of quitting despite becoming the first Rangers team boss since 1978 to fail to win any of his first five league matches in charge.
Asked by BBC Scotland whether he had any sympathy for the former Rangers defender, McInnes said: "More than a bit, a huge lot. I didn't like that today. It's so unfair on a manager, I don't like it at all.
"He is a fine man, he's a fine manager and, when results don't always come at clubs, especially clubs this size, it's more than just the manager for me. That is tough on him.
"It's early on in the season. He's a new manager and, likewise with myself, I am just in at Hearts and, if we were still sitting towards the bottom end of the table and integrating loads of players and trying to kind of implement what we want to do, you'd be asking for that understanding. And, as managers, that's all we ask for."
While Rangers sit third bottom of the Scottish Premiership after the 2-0 defeat, Hearts are three points clear at the top before reigning champions Celtic face Kilmarnock on Sunday after taking 13 points from a possible 15.
"I enjoyed my team, but it was hard to ignore that and it was hard not to have empathy of course," former Rangers midfielder McInnes, who has been previously linked with a return to Ibrox as manager, added after a chorus of boos greeted Martin's exit up the Ibrox tunnel.
Image source, SNSHearts head coach Derek McInnes believes his side gave a "90-minute performance" and deserved their victory at Ibrox.
Asked if it was a statement win, he tells BBC Scotland: "It is an important win for us in terms of giving belief to a lot of the new lads and the lads who have been here a while who have been scarred by not winning at places at Ibrox.
"Everybody was making reference to our poor record here and it is good to put that to bed.
"People will focus on Rangers, but I thought we were bullish and confident and had a way about us in the first half.
"It is tough for Rangers at the minute and we wanted to add to that anxiety, so any opportunity to press them high and not let them build the way they want to play, we tried to take that."
As for his two-goal captain, McInnes adds: "It was an absolute masterclass by Lawrence Shankland up front. He led the line brilliantly and was well supported behind - we were outstanding to a man."
