OPPOSITION VIEW: HEARTS

With a trip to Scotland up next in pre-season, we spoke with Scott McIntosh from the ‘Scarves Around The Funnel’ Hearts podcast to understand how things are going in Edinburgh. 

This game is Craig Gordon's testimonial match, what are some of your favourite moments of him as a Hearts player?

There are so many great saves to pick from over both his spells with the club so I will try and cut it down to one that has circumstantial significance. His save from Ryan Porteous’ header in the Scottish Cup Semi-Final in 2022 was so vital as we held a slender one goal lead at the time and our neighbours were very much in the ascendancy.

The 2006 Scottish Cup win is maybe the least regarded or celebrated of our last 3 cup wins but Craig played a vital role in the run up to the final and saved a penalty in our shoot out win. Here's hoping he can add to that with another medal this season.

We are all just very proud of his career as a whole from being the most expensive goalkeeper in British football at one time, overcoming serious injuries to come back and play Champions League and international football all the way to coming back home 5 years ago.

Where are you aiming to finish in the Scottish Premiership this season?

There is a lot of talk regarding upsetting the status quo in Scottish football due to the recent investment from Tony Bloom, but improvement will be steady due to the analytics model we are now using for player trading. After the disappointment of last season, the priority should be to get back in a top 4 place and make us horrible to play against again. Trying to consolidate top 3 positions over the next 2-3 seasons needs to come first before we can start to talk about challenging Celtic & Rangers.

Who would you say is your best attacking player?

Re-signing Lawrence Shankland is pivotal to how Derek McInnes wants to play this season. He currently has a record of 1 goal every 2 games but also provides a link between defence and attack, capable of dropping deep as well. We have some raw talent capable of stretching teams but it's vital to have Shankland to compliment that.

Who is your best defensive player?

Our greatest strength in defence is the plethora of options we have at centre half (providing we have more luck with injuries than last season when we had 17 different centre back pairings). The likes of Frankie Kent, Craig Halkett, Stuart Findlay & Jamie McCart all have qualities that compliment the physical nature of the Scottish Premiership.

Will it be beneficial or more of a hindrance not having European football this season?

History points to it being beneficial given how the likes of Aberdeen and us have struggled with the demand of games every 3-4 days which has led to player recruitment focussing on quantity over quality.

What are the best places for a pre match pint?

Diggers have the best pints, but the Tynecastle Arms is better for the pre match atmosphere.

Your season is underway already, with you playing four League Cup matches against lower league opposition that have all been comfortable wins, can you read too much into these results?

We have struggled with these fixtures at various points over the years, so it's been nice to see us come out of the group unscathed and with nearly all the squad getting some minutes as well. It has had the double bonus of providing competitive action but due to the opposition being from the lower leagues, we have had the luxury of trying our different systems from game to game. Saturday though will offer a good opportunity to measure how far the team is in their preparation for the 4th August when we play Aberdeen in the 1st league game of the season.

Finally, score prediction?

I am going to say 3-2 Sunderland. I think we will offer a lot to the game especially from set play situations but I am still a little concerned with a lack of pace in our full back areas which may be our undoing.

They also have an interview with Craig Gordon, where they cover the testimonial. You can listen along HERE.