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2025–26 Heart of Midlothian F.C. season

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Heart of Midlothian
2025–26 season
ChairmanAnn Budge
ManagerDerek McInnes
StadiumTynecastle Park
Premiership1st (Ongoing)
League CupSecond round (Ongoing)
Top goalscorerLeague:
Stuart Findlay (1)
All:
Cláudio Braga
Lawrence Shankland
(3 each)
Highest home attendance18,677 vs. Aberdeen, Premiership, 4 August 2025
Lowest home attendance8,722, vs. Dumbarton, League Cup, 23 July 2025
← 2024–25
2026–27 →

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 are competing in the Scottish League Cup and are expected to compete in the Scottish Cup.

Results and fixtures

[edit]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Pre-season / Friendlies

[edit]
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 3–0 Sunderland Tynecastle Park
15:00 Braga
Shankland
Kyziridis 		Hearts Report Attendance: 17,756
Referee: Robertson
Note: Testimonial match for Craig Gordon

Scottish Premiership

[edit]
Main article: 2025–26 Scottish Premiership
4 August 2025 1 Heart of Midlothian 2–0 Aberdeen Tynecastle Park
20:00 Shinnie 11' (Own goal)
Findlay 73'		 [2] Attendance: 18,677
Referee: Walsh

Scottish League Cup

[edit]
Main article: 2025–26 Scottish League Cup

League phase

[edit]
12 July 2025 Group E Heart of Midlothian 4–1 Dunfermline Athletic Tynecastle Park
17:15 Wilson 3'
Shankland 76', 79'
Kingsley 90+1'		 [3] Cooper 38' Attendance: 12,940
Referee: Wilson
15 July 2025 Group E Hamilton Academical 0–4 Heart of Midlothian Broadwood Stadium
19:45 [4] Findlay 6'
Kabangu 45+1'
Wilson 69'
Braga 83'		 Referee: Hardie
19 July 2025 Group E Stirling Albion 0–4 Heart of Midlothian Forthbank Stadium
17:15 [5] Halkett 13', 80'
Braga 23'
Kyziridis 38'		 Attendance: 3,309[6]
Referee: McFarlane
23 July 2025 Group E Heart of Midlothian 4–0 Dumbarton Tynecastle Park
19:45 Shankland 17'
Steinwender 45+3'
Kyziridis 52'
Braga 72'		 [7] Attendance: 8,722
Referee: Snedden

Knockout phase

[edit]
16 August 2025 Second round St Mirren v Heart of Midlothian St Mirren Park
15:00

First team player statistics

[edit]

Captains

[edit]

Lawrence Shankland continued as club captain under new manager Derek McInnes.[8] He was originally appointed captain in 2022 under Robbie Neilson.[8]

No Pos Country Name No of games Notes
9 FW Scotland Shankland 4 Team Captain
2 DF England Kent 1 Vice Captain

Last updated: 4 August 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

[edit]
Last updated 04 August 2025

During the 2025–26 campaign, Hearts have used twenty-five 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 England ENG Frankie Kent 4 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 3+0 0
3 DF Scotland SCO Stephen Kingsley 2 1 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+1 1
4 DF Scotland SCO Craig Halkett 4 2 1+0 0 0+0 0 2+1 2
6 MF Democratic Republic of the Congo COD Beni Baningime 2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 2+0 0
7 FW Belgium BEL Elton Kabangu 4 1 0+0 0 0+0 0 2+2 1
8 MF Australia AUS Calem Nieuwenhof 4 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 2+2 0
9 FW Scotland SCO Lawrence Shankland 4 3 1+0 0 0+0 0 3+0 3
10 FW Portugal POR Cláudio Braga 5 3 1+0 0 0+0 0 2+2 3
12 DF Norway NOR Christian Borchgrevink 4 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 2+1 0
14 MF Australia AUS Cameron Devlin 5 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 3+1 0
15 DF Austria AUT Michael Steinwender 3 1 0+1 0 0+0 0 2+0 1
16 MF Scotland SCO Blair Spittal 4 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 2+1 0
17 MF Scotland SCO Alan Forrest 4 0 0+1 0 0+0 0 3+0 0
18 DF Scotland SCO Harry Milne 4 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 2+1 0
19 DF Scotland SCO Stuart Findlay 4 2 1+0 1 0+0 0 2+1 1
20 MF England ENG Yan Dhanda 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0
21 FW Scotland SCO James Wilson 5 2 0+1 0 0+0 0 3+1 2
22 MF Iceland ISL Tómas Bent Magnússon 1 0 0+1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
27 MF Norway NOR Sander Kartum 2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+1 0
28 GK Scotland SCO Zander Clark 3 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 2+0 0
29 MF Albania ALB Sabah Kerjota 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0
30 GK Scotland SCO Ryan Fulton 2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 2+0 0
31 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Oisin McEntee 4 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 2+1 0
32 DF Scotland SCO Adam Forrester 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0
89 MF Greece GRE Alexandros Kyziridis 3 2 0+1 0 0+0 0 1+1 2
  • Last updated: 4 August 2025
  • Source: Match Reports[9][10]
  • The squad could change until the summer transfer end on 31 August 2025.
  • Ordered by Squad Number.

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

Disciplinary record

[edit]

During the 2025–26 season, Hearts players were issued with five yellow cards and no red cards. The table below shows the number of cards and type shown to each player.

Last updated 4 August 2025
Number Position Nation Name Premiership Scottish Cup League Cup Total
Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card
2 DF Scotland Frankie Kent 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
4 DF Scotland Craig Halkett 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
14 MF Australia Cameron Devlin 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
18 DF Scotland Harry Milne 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Total 3 0 0 0 2 0 5 0

Goal scorers

[edit]

Last updated 04 August 2025

Place Position Nation Name Premiership Scottish Cup League Cup Total
1 FW Scotland Lawrence Shankland 0 0 3 3
FW Portugal Cláudio Braga 0 0 3 3
2 FW Scotland James Wilson 0 0 2 2
DF Scotland Craig Halkett 0 0 2 2
MF Greece Alexandros Kyziridis 0 0 2 2
DF Scotland Stuart Findlay 1 0 1 2
3 DF Scotland Stephen Kingsley 0 0 1 1
DF Belgium Elton Kabangu 0 0 1 1
DF Austria Michael Steinwender 0 0 1 1
Own goals 1 0 0 1
Total 2 0 16 18

Clean sheets

[edit]
R Pos Nat Name Premiership Scottish Cup League Cup Total
1 GK Scotland Ryan Fulton 0 0 2 2
= GK Scotland Zander Clark 1 0 1 2
2 GK Scotland Craig Gordon 0 0 0 0
Total 1 0 3 4

Last updated: 4 August 2025
Source: Match reports in Results

Team statistics

[edit]

League table

[edit]
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
1 Livingston 2 1 1 0 5 3 +2 4 Qualification for the Champions League play-off round
2 Heart of Midlothian 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3 Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
3 Hibernian 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3 Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round[b]
4 Celtic 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
5 Motherwell 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 2
Updated to match(es) played on 9 August 2025. Source: [11][12]
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).[13]
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

[edit]
Pos Team
 Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification HOM DNF DUM HAM STI
1 Heart of Midlothian 4 4 0 0 0 16 1 +15 12 Qualification for the second round — 4–1 4–0 — —
2 Dunfermline Athletic 4 3 0 0 1 9 5 +4 9 — — — 2–1 2–0
3 Dumbarton 4 2 0 0 2 2 8 −6 6 — 0–4 — — 1–0
4 Hamilton Academical 4 1 0 0 3 3 7 −4 3 0–4 — 0–1 — —
5 Stirling Albion 4 0 0 0 4 0 9 −9 0 0–4 — — 0–2 —
Source: [14]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.[15]

Division summary

[edit]
Round1
GroundH
ResultW
Position1
Updated to match(es) played on 4 August 2025. Source: [citation needed]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Management statistics

[edit]
Last updated 04 August 2025
Name From To P W D L Win%[note 1]
Derek McInnes 12 July 2025 5 5 0 0 100.00

Home attendances

[edit]
Last updated on 4 August 2025

  Win   Draw   Loss

Comp Date Score Opponent Attendance
League Cup 12 July 2025 4–1 Dunfermline Athletic 12,940[3]
League Cup 23 July 2025 4–0 Dumbarton 8,722[7]
Premiership 4 August 2025 2–0 Aberdeen 18,677[2]
Total attendance: 40,339
Total league attendance: 18,677
Average league attendance: 18,677

Last updated: 4 August 2025
Source: Match reports in Results

Club

[edit]

Management

[edit]

On 19 May 2025, Derek McInnes[16] was appointed as Head Coach on a four year contract. [17] He replaced interim Head Coach Liam Fox, who managed the club for the final four games of the previous season.[18][19] McInnes also brought Paul Sheerin and Alan Archibald to Tynecastle, who were previously his First Team coaches at Kilmarnock.[20]

On 30 June, it was announced that Ann Budge would be stepping down as Club Chair in December 2025.[21]

Playing kit

[edit]

Hearts kits are manufactured by Hummel for the 2025–26 season, replacing Umbro.[22] Hummel agreed a five year deal with the club.[23] Stellar Omada continues as Hearts main sponsor, in the second of a three-year deal.[24]

Transfers

[edit]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  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.[29][30]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Heart of Midlothian: Robbie Neilson's side clinch Championship". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 10 April 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Hearts started their Scottish Premiership campaign with a comfortable win over a wasteful Aberdeen side at Tynecastle". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 4 August 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Match Report: Hearts 4-1 Dunfermline Athletic". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 12 July 2025. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  4. ^ "Hearts made it two wins from two in the Premier Sports Cup group stage with a comfortable victory over Hamilton Academical at Broadwood". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 15 July 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  5. ^ "Hearts scored four goals for the third game running to maintain to all but win Premier Sports Cup Group E as Stirling Albion were well beaten at Forthbank Stadium". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  6. ^ "Report: Stirling Albion vs Heart of Midlothian". stirlingalbionfc.co.uk. Stirling Albion F.C. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Hearts scored four goals for the fourth successive Premier Sports Cup match, easing past Dumbarton at Tynecastle to ensure passage to the last 16 on maximum points". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 23 July 2025. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Hearts captain confirmed as Derek McInnes explains his decision". edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Edinburgh Evening News. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  9. ^ "Soccerbase Hearts Squad Stats 2024/25". Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  10. ^ "First Team Sqiad". heartsfc.co.uk/. Heart of Midlothian F.C. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Scottish Premiership Table". BBC. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Premiership League Table". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "Summary - League Cup". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Format". SPFL. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  16. ^ "Hearts announce McInnes as new head coach". BBC Sport. 19 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  17. ^ "Derek McInnes named Hearts head coach following Kilmarnock exit as boss swaps Scottish Premiership clubs". Sky Sports. 19 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  18. ^ "Fox to leave Hearts as new manager to arrive 'very soon'". BBC Sport. 17 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ "Derek McInnes Appointed Head Coach". Heart of Midlothian F.C. 19 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  21. ^ "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.
  22. ^ "Hearts throwback to Vladimir Romanov with new kit". Edinburgh Evening News. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  23. ^ "Hummel To Become New Technical Kit Partner". Heart of Midlothian F.C. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  24. ^ "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.
  25. ^ "Christian Borchgrevink To Join in Summer". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 10 April 2025. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  26. ^ "Hearts make right-back Borchgrevink first summer signing". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 10 April 2025. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  27. ^ "Kyziridis to join Jambos". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  28. ^ "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.
  29. ^ "Striker Kabangu joins Hearts on permanent deal". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  30. ^ "Kabangu Joins on Permanent Transfer". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  31. ^ "McEntee Joins Jambos". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 31 May 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  32. ^ "Walsall midfielder McEntee joins Hearts". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 31 May 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  33. ^ "Hearts buy striker Braga from Aalesunds". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 15 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  34. ^ "Cláudio Braga To Join Hearts". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 15 June 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  35. ^ "Kerjota Joins Hearts". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 22 July 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  36. ^ "Hearts transfer done as six-figure signing completes his move to Tynecastle". edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Edinburgh Evening News. 22 July 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  37. ^ "Magnusson will bring 'height & aggression' to Hearts". BBC Sport. 4 August 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  38. ^ "Magnússon is Maroon". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 4 August 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  39. ^ "'Versatile' Kabore's prolonged Hearts move complete". BBC Sport. 6 August 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  40. ^ "Kabore is a Jambo". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 6 August 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  41. ^ "Salford sign midfielder Grant on two-year deal". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 10 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  42. ^ a b "Grant and McKay to depart Hearts". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 13 May 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  43. ^ a b "Grant & McKay will leave Hearts at end of season". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 13 May 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  44. ^ "Hearts' Penrice completes 'life-changing' AEK move". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 3 July 2025. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  45. ^ "Penrice Moves On". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 5 July 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  46. ^ "Denholm completes Livi switch from Hearts". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 26 July 2025. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  47. ^ "Denholm Departs Hearts". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 26 July 2025. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  48. ^ "Findlay rejoins McInnes on loan to Hearts from Oxford". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 19 June 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  49. ^ "Findlay Joins Jambos On Loan". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 19 June 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  50. ^ "Taits Livi Loan". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  51. ^ "Livingston deal for Hearts midfielder Macaulay Tait - including a key clause". .edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Edinburgh Evening News. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  52. ^ "Neilson's Falkirk Loan". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  53. ^ "Falkirk sign Hearts defender Neilson on season-long loan". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  54. ^ "Liam's Alloa Loan". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  55. ^ "Alloa Athletic sign Hearts goalkeeper Liam McFarlane on loan". alloaadvertiser.com. Alloa Advertiser. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  56. ^ "Hearts Enter Cooperation Agreement With Spartans". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 28 July 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  57. ^ "Hearts seal deal with SPFL side to develop players". edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Edinburgh Evening News. 28 July 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  58. ^ "Sandilands Returns To Montrose". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  59. ^ "Hearts Send Forward Out On Loan". edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Edinburgh Evening News. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  60. ^ "Hearts seal cooperation deal with St Johnstone as Forrester goes on loan". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 7 August 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  61. ^ "Forrester heads to Perth as part of cooperation agreement". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 7 August 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  62. ^ "Dhanda joins Dundee after 'seven times a day' Murray calls". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  63. ^ "Dhandas Dundee Move". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
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