Latest news with #ex-Hibs
Edinburgh Reporter
6 days ago
- Sport
- Edinburgh Reporter
McEntee is fourth signing by McInnes at Hearts
Derek McInnes has added Osin McEntee to his squad on a three-year deal, the Republic of Ireland youth international having signed a pre-contract agreement. The 24-year-old will join the Tynecastle club this summer after the expiry of his contact with Walsall, an English League Two club, where he made 79 appearances, scoring six goals. McInnes, Hearts' new head coach, said: 'Oisin is hungry, he wants to learn and improve, and he wants to be part of what we are trying to do at Hearts.' The head coach said McEntee is a ball player and has gained a lot of knowledge in England, but he has played in Scotland, which is a bonus. He will be at Tynecastle until the summer of 2028 and McEntee is the fourth summer singing as McInnes (pictured) looks to re-build the squad ahead of the new campaign. He arrives following deals to bring defender Christian Borchgrevink, goalscoring forward Alexander Kyziridis and Elton Kabangu, who was the club's second top goalscorer last term, into the club. McEntee started his career with the Newcastle United Academy and the central midfielder was captain of the under-18 and under-23 sides. He signed a new contract with the North-East club but was loaned to Greenock Morton and played 28 games before he left Newcastle for Walsall where he signed a two-year contract. There he played in midfield but also in the back three and made his final appearance for The Saddlers in the recent play-off final defeat at Wembley to AFC Wimbledon. Internationally, he has played for the Republic at youth level and his experience includes the European qualifiers in 2023 at under-21 level. Meanwhile, McInnes' new-look Hearts open their campaign in the Premier Sports Cup, Group E, at home to Dunfermline Athletic, now managed by ex-Hibs and Celtic boss, Neil Lennon, on July 12 (5.15pm) and it will be televised. Then Hearts travel to the K Park to face Hamilton Accies on July 15 (7.45pm) and are away at Stirling Albion's Forthbank Stadium on Saturday, July 19 (5.15pm), also in front of the cameras. Hearts return to Tynecastle for their final group match and host Dumbarton on Wednesday, July 23 (7.45pm). Like this: Like Related
Scotsman
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Hearts to face ex-Hibs man, St Mirren drawn against newly promoted outfit - Premier Sports Cup draw in full
The Premier Sports Cup has thrown up some intriguing ties - especially if you're a Hearts fan. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... We're just 10 days on from the end of the Scottish Premiership season and preparations have already started for the 2025/26 campaign. The draw for the group stage of the Premier Sports Cup has been confirmed, with all 40 qualifying sides from the SPFL, Lowland and Highland Leagues divided between eight groups. Scheduled to begin in mid-July, there are already a number of eye-popping ties lined up for this summer. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hearts, who did not take part in the group stage last year due to their participation in European competition, have perhaps been handed the most intriguing clash after being handed a date with second tier outfit Dunfermline Athletic, who are now of course managed by ex-Hibs manager Neil Lennon. Drawn in Group E, new head coach Derek McInnes' first competitive fixtures will also see him take on Hamilton, Stirling Albion and Dumbarton after his arrival from Kilmarnock. The man who replaced him Rugby Park, Stuart Kettlewell, has been drawn against newly promoted sides Livingston and East Fife, alongside Kelty Hearts and Brora Rangers. St Mirren, who narrowly missed out on European qualification, have been drawn in Group D and will face a clash with newly promoted Arbroath in one of the games of the round, alongside ties with Scott Brown's Ayr United, Annan Athletic and Forfar Athletic. Last season's semi-finalists Motherwell have been drawn against Greenock Morton, Stenhousemuir, Peterhead and Clyde. Managerless Dundee will face a fascinating clash against Championship side Airdrieonians, who recently survived relegation to the third tier. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The group phase is not regionalised this season following a change to the format back in 2022. The 40 teams were split into five seeding pots based on final league placings in season 2024/25. One club from each pot was drawn into each group. Eight group winners and the three best-placed runners-up progress to the last 16 on the weekend of 16/17 August. Dundee United, Rangers, Celtic, Aberdeen and Hibs have all dodged the group stage this year due to their participation in European competition. Neil Lennon and Derek McInnes will clash once again after Hearts were drawn against Dunfermline Athletic in the Premier Sports Cup. | SNS Group Premier Sports Cup fixture dates The first group stage fixtures are set to begin on the weekend of July 12/13. The rest of the section fixtures follow on 15/16 July, 19/20 July, 22/23 July and 26/27 July. The full fixture list will be announced in due course along with which matches are selected for TV coverage. Once the group stages have been played, the competition moves into a knockout format and begins with the quarter-finals on the weekend of September 20/21. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The semi-finals are then scheduled for the weekend of November 1/2 before the final is set take place at Hampden Park in Glasgow on Sunday 14 December 15 2024. Premier Sports Cup Group Draw Group A Falkirk, Queen's Park, Cove Rangers, Spartans, Brechin City Group B Ross County, Partick Thistle, Queen of the South, Edinburgh City, Stranraer Group C Dundee, Airdrieonians, Alloa Athletic, Montrose, Bonnyrigg Rose Group D St Mirren, Arbroath, Ayr United, Annan Athletic, Forfar Athletic Group E Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hearts, Dunfermline Athletic, Hamilton, Dumbarton, Stirling Albion Group F St Johnstone, Raith Rovers, Inverness, Elgin City, East Kilbride Group G Motherwell, Greenock Morton, Stenhousemuir, Peterhead, Clyde Group H
Edinburgh Reporter
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Edinburgh Reporter
Kingsley the hero for ten-man Hearts
Stephen Kingsley fired home for ten-man Hearts to claim a moral boosting victory at Kilmarnock to end the Tynecastle team's William Hill Premiership campaign on a high. The experienced defender struck with one minute left of regular time as battling Hearts withstood pressure from the Rugby Park side despite Yan Dhanda being red carded in the first session, having to replace goalkeeper Zander Clark early on and substitute hot-stop, Ryan Fulton, struggling with a leg injury for much of the remainder of the match. Earlier, interim manager, Liam Fox, in his last game before leaving Tynecastle, made three changes from the 2-1 victory over St Johnstone at Tynecastle on Wednesday, Zander Clark, Stephen Kingsley and Calem Nieuwenhof replacing Ryan Fulton, Craig Halkett and Jorge Grant. Kilmarnock's interim manager, Chris Burke, also made three changes. However, there was little to excite either set of fans in the Ayrshire sunshine in the early stages, the match having the vibe of a late season rubber with little at stake, with a number of misplaced passes punctuating the flow. Kyle Vassell tried to change things and he made a neat turn in midfield. He fed Fraser Murray who drive towards goal before feeding Daniel Alexander but he fired over the top. Murray burst into the action again but he was stopped by a heavy Adam Forrester challenge. The young Hearts defender was yellow carded. Nieuwenhof then drove forward deep into the Killie rearguard but his initiative floundered near the penalty box before attention moved to the other end of the pitch where Clark was seen clutching an ankle. He was immediately replaced by Fulton. Time 22 minutes. Then Frankie Kent brought down Vassell providing Killie with a chance from a free-kick 25 yards out, but ex-Hibs player Murray wasted the opportunity by blasting the ball high and wide when he should have tested Fulton. Forrest then cut in on goal but Rugby Park goalkeeper, Robby McCrorie, gathered with Nieuwenhof lurking. At the other end, Milne fouled Armstrong who lashed the ball across the Jambos box but nobody was there to deflect the ball home. The home side's drummer tired hard to inject something into the game but even he failed before Yan Dhanda was involved in a challenge near the edge of the box. Stuart Findlay was injured in the incident and required treatment as VAR reviewed the situation with a potential red card against the Hearts player. The referee was sent to the pitch side screen and Dhanda made the lonely walk back to the dressing room with less than ten minutes remaining of the first session. A harsh decision, many thought. The card injected some enthusiasm into proceedings and brought the drummer back in action, pounding away as Hearts were awarded their first corner of the game. It came to nothing. Ten-man Hearts continued to move the ball around, retaining possession, but the Men in Maroon had two scares before the break. Brad Lyons fired in a strong shot from the right which whistled wide of Fulton's right-hand post and Vassell was disappointed when he failed to get his head to an Armstrong cross from the right hand side. Overall, Hearts had rarely been seen as an attacking threat in a disappointing first period which ended blank despite the Jambos enjoying 58 per cent of possession against 41 by the opposition. Kilmarnock, however, had six shots to the Jambos three but the visitors made 266 passes against 184 from Killie. Findlay failed to reappear for the second half with Bruce Anderson being introduced and the substitute had a free header in the box with the first attack but sent the ball straight towards Fulton who gathered. The pressure continued and Liam Donnelly was challenged by Nieuwenhof which resulted in a free-kick in a central position but Armstrong fired the ball straight into the Jambos wall. Kilmarnock forced Hearts into defending with everybody behind the ball except Lawrence Shankland who cut a lonely figure up top until a breakaway found Forrest who cut in goal before sending a weak shot towards McCrorie. Quality with the final ball was missing from both sides as the clock ticked on with Killie dictating the pace and Hearts spoiling in a bid to stay in the game. Milne was removed in favour of Halkett and, minutes later, Fulton was careless with a short pass out of his box and Killie's Murray wasted the opportunity, slicing the ball well wide. Bobby Wales was replaced by Marley Watkins but it was Herts who threatened next with Nieuwenhof shooting for goal. McCrorie gathered comfortably. Then Devlin and Shankland linked and the Aussie midfielder fired for goal only to see McCrorie tip the ball over. Nieuwenhof required treatment before he was substituted. Shankland and Forrest also departed with Elton Kabangu, Sander Kartum and James Wilson coming on. Halkett was handed the armband. Fulton was patched up with his left leg seeming to be the problem as Liam Polworth and Cole Burke took the field for Killie, Lyons and Armstrong making way and, within seconds, Killie had a great chance but Murray wasted it, firing over from the penalty spot area. The Rugby Park side looked the most likely to break the deadlock and they continued to hem Hearts into their own area, keeping the pressure on, but the Men in Maroon broke free and Wilson fired the ball wide from an angle on the right. However, it was normal service soon after as Killie powered down the right only to be blocked by Hearts who, up to now, had managed the game well despite being minus one man. Vassell was then substituted by ex-Jambo, Gary Mackay-Steven, as Fulton continued to struggle with Kent, who had been outstanding the game, taking goal kicks and the goalkeeper was again given treatment but remained on the pitch with four minutes of regular time remaining. What a shock for Killie seconds later. Hearts moved forward and the ball broke to Kingsley (pictured by Nigel Duncan) from a header on the edge of the box with a minute left. The experienced defender drilled the ball into the bottom right-hand corner with his left foot from a central position to spark celebrations among the travelling support. The goal was checked by VAR with a challenge by Wilson under scrutiny, but the goal stood and Hearts claimed their fourth win in a row. Like this: Like Related
Scotsman
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Next Hearts manager odds: Ex-Hibs, England and several ex-Tynecastle men amongst favourites to replace Neil Critchley
Neil Critchley's time at Hearts is up after the Tynecastle hierarchy opted to relieve his of his duties following the disappointed 1-0 home defeat to struggling Dundee at the weekend. Neil Critchley was sacked as head coach of Hearts following their 1-0 defeat to Dundee at the weekend. Cr: SNS Group. | SNS Group Sacked after just six months in the role, the board opted to make the change after Simon Murray's first-half strike made it five games without a win and comes just one week on from the team's extra-time defeat to Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi-final last week. The news means Hearts are now searching for their third permanent manager of the season, with Liam Fox placed in caretaker charge for the second time this campaign. But who are the early favourites to take the reins at Hearts in the weeks to come? Here are the latest odds*. *All odds are offered by and can change at any time. Please gamble responsibly. 1 . Russell Martin - 14/1 Heavily linked to both Rangers and Norwich City in recent weeks, the ex-Southampton boss is an outside bet for the Hearts job. | Getty Images Photo Sales 2 . Steve Holland - 12/1 The ex-England assistant, and recently sacked head coach of Yokohama is a surprise name on the list to be next in the Tynecastle dugout. | Getty Images Photo Sales 3 . Tony Mowbray - 10/1 Controversial? The ex-Hibs boss has managed in the capital before and was recently sacked as manager of West Bromwich Albion. | Getty Images Photo Sales 4 . Des Buckingham - 8/1 Led Oxford United to promotion last season via the EFL LEague One playoffs, but was sacked after struggling in the English second tier just months later. He's a free agent, could he be a surprise candidate for the Hearts role? | Getty Images Photo:Photo Sales
Scotsman
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Dundee boss eyes Hearts 'retribution' after Tynecastle Scottish Cup exit ahead of Scottish Premiership clash
Watch more of our videos on and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Visit Shots! now Tony Docherty wants his Dundee side - currently sitting second bottom - to get one over Hearts after losing out to the Jambos in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals. Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... They lost 3-1 to the Tynecastle club last month despite levelling the tie just after half time when Joe Shaughnessy cancelled out Sander Kartum's cracking opener. Neil Critchley's side quickly got back in front after an own goal from ex-Hibs ace Simon Murray with Kartum scoring a second to secure the Jambos' spot in the semi-finals. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I was really disappointed in our last meeting,' Docherty told The Courier. 'I didn't want to be having a weekend off there, I wanted to be a semi-finalist in the Scottish Cup. We had the opportunity to do that when we played Hearts, particularly when we got the game back to 1-1. That was frustrating. This weekend is an opportunity for the players and myself to try and go and put that right, because we got ourselves into a good position in that match. Unfortunately, we didn't take that opportunity.' Hearts 'unlucky' against Aberdeen in Scottish Cup semi-final defeat, says Tony Docherty The Jambos come into Saturday's match on the back of a 2-1 extra-time loss at Hampden to Aberdeen after Michael Steinwender and Cammy Devlin were both sent off. And Dee boss Docherty reckons Hearts were 'unlucky' - saying that his side will be to be on the top of their game to get a result in the capital. He said: 'I want to see a real mentality. When you go to stadiums like Tynecastle, you know what you need to do to win the game. We've done it before, so it's important that we show that mentality. It's important that you play. You make sure you are up for the challenge the home crowd brings. You try and get your own game plan over your opponents. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We'll be endeavouring to do that all week in training and hopefully bringing it to fresh in the game on Saturday. I thought Hearts were unlucky against Aberdeen. Hearts have got very good players, a really strong squad of players. We need to make sure we're ready for whatever team comes out. We need to be at our best. That's the whole objective of training this week, to make sure we're at our best to give us the best possible opportunity of picking up points.' Dundee have five cup finals to stay in Scottish Premiership starting with Hearts clash 'They are five cup finals – there's no other way of saying it,' Docherty said of his side's bottom six outings with Dundee second-bottom and currently in the relegation play-off position. 'There are five games that you need to do your all and give absolutely everything to take as many positive results as you can. But I've always said it's about performance. If we get that level of performance, then that will lead to us picking up points. I want it to be the level of performance we were at in the four league games previous to Hibs. It's the levels of performance that will enable us to be successful in this last period of the season. Mentality and spirit comes into it as well as performance levels at this stage.' 'Obviously, we were in a brilliant place going into the Hibs game (4-0 loss at Easter Road). The team were playing really well. There was a real feelgood factor. But the performance against Hibs wasn't what we were looking for and it is important that we bounce back from that quickly. We're striving to get back to that place that we need to be in for these five important games.' Meanwhile, the Courier reports that ex-Hearts player Scott Fraser could return to Dundee's matchday squad for the first time in six months after being out injured.
