By Barry Anderson
Copyright scotsman
Hearts are to restructure their football department in an effort to improve daily operations at their Riccarton training base. The club are preparing to reorganise their performance staff, with some employees set to leave as part of the process. The move is designed to enhance the work done by sports scientists, medical staff and the coaching team. Head coach Derek McInnes has guided Hearts to the top of the William Hill Premiership after five games of the 2025/26 campaign. With fresh investment in the shape of £9.86m from the British entrepreneur Tony Bloom, there are plenty positives for fans. Supporters want to see their team challenging again after finishing seventh in the league last season, and McInnes has made an encouraging start. Senior management, meanwhile, are looking at the overall structure of Hearts’ football department and are set to make some changes. They want to refine processes to improve sports science, medical work and, where possible, reduce the number of injuries to players. The performance team is therefore set to change. Although nothing has been finalised as yet, the club’s head of performance Bob McCunn is one of those who is expected to move on. Others are likely to follow. Hearts want to ensure every area of the club is performing at its optimum for the long term as they strive to provide a regular challenge at the top of Scottish football. Bloom stated last month that he believes the Tynecastle side have a “very good chance of at least being second” in the Premiership this season. Beyond that, he said he would be “very disappointed” if they did not win at least one Scottish league title within the next 10 years. Chief executive Andrew McKinlay and sporting director Graeme Jones are tasked with putting the required structures in place behind the scenes, both at Tynecastle and Riccarton. Staff costs at Hearts rose by £1.1m to £16.5m in the club’s last set of accounts, £11.8m of which was attributed to the football department and the 190 staff who work within it. Discussions are set to step up over the rest of this month and into October in order to make the changes which are deemed necessary. Due to international breaks and the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals, Hearts will play only two matches between now and 18 October. That allows some breathing space and time to assess how the football department should look going forward. McInnes’ side have no fixture this weekend and resume Premiership duty a week on Saturday when Falkirk visit Tynecastle. They then host Hibs in Gorgie in the Edinburgh derby on Saturday, 4 October. International football then takes precedence for two weeks, and Hearts return to league action against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on 18 October. Hearts played a closed-door friendly at Tynecastle on Wednesday against Ayr United, the details of which are here: Hearts beat Ayr as young striker takes his chance READ MORE: Fresh concern as injured Hearts players are sent for scans
