When Heart of Midlothian Women run out at Hampden Park on Sunday it will be a first in the club's history. An appearance in the Women's Scottish Cup final.

It will also serve as the latest staging post in the team's progression over the last three years, which has seen greater investment to make the team and the structure more professional. Overseen by sporting director Joe Savage, it has been led by Eva Olid.

Before addressing the current state of the team and looking ahead to tomorrow's encounter with Rangers, it is perhaps important to undertake a brief history lesson.

Hearts Women came into being in 2009 when Campbell Ogilvie, the former managing director, announced the club had taken over Musselburgh Windsor Ladies. A significant step forward arrived in 2018 when a six-figure investment saw the women's team fully integrated with the club and academy and the appointment of Kevin Murphy in a managerial role with Andy Enwood as head coach. The following year they would take Hearts into the SWPL1. Andy Kirk would lead the team in their first season in the SWPL1 before the women's football landscape changed as the top-flight grew from eight teams to 10 teams in 2021/22 then to 12 the following campaign.

READ MORE: How Hearts season was one of time: Naismith, falling apart, Shankland, feats

In 2021 the popular Kirk would move on to become Brechin City manager, announcing his departure to the team in the immediate aftermath of their final game of the season. Hearts sought a new head coach and Hearts Standard understands Olid impressed, to put it lightly, with the extent of the detail and knowledge of the team and club as well as her vision.

Having coached in her native Spain and the United States, her time at the club has been one of constant progress on and off the field. 

"I remember when I first arrived we were training three nights a week, starting 6.30-7pm," Olid told Hearts Standard. "We didn’t have a recovery day, we didn’t have the hydrotherapy pool, we didn’t have this food we have now.

"[Now] players arrive at 12pm and they leave 5.30/6pm. It is a massive difference, you can work so much better. With a lot of time, you can do a lot of things. We have injury prevention before the sessions. That first season we didn’t have. Our schedule is a professional schedule.

"The club help us with everything."

The Women's team are in on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday prior to a game on Sunday. There are pitch sessions, analysis, tactical work, gym work and recovery. When Hearts Standard visited the Oriam earlier in the week the team had just come off the pitch, soaked to the bone, after set-piece work.

The more professional approach has delivered results.

"Every season has been a progression," Olid said. "Last season was the biggest step. We were 8th in a 10-team league then with 12 teams finished fourth. That was the impact of ‘wow’. This season, again fourth, it looks normal.

"It’s smaller but still, we make a step forward. It has been an upward progression and next season my expectation is for another step forward."

Olid admits to being "demanding" so when asked to reflect on the league season which finished on Sunday with a 2-0 loss at Glasgow City, one of the country's 'big three', she expressed a tinge of disappointment that the team hadn't picked up more than their 54 points.

"I think it has been a season of ups and downs," she said. "At the beginning of the season, we always said our objective was closing the gap to the top three and the possibility of arriving in the final of a cup was one of the objectives too. But the main focus was to close the gap. You see now we got the objectives.

"Maybe I expected more points. We dropped points like Montrose, we wanted to get three points, we got one. We lost three times against Hibs. The first game we played against them we missed a lot of opportunities, we played well, probably that one we had to win. The other two were not good mentally and we lost. I expected more points from those games. The rest, it’s okay. Maybe you can get one point more against the top teams.

"The objective is done, we had more points than last season, we have more goals and we are closer to third position and the final of the Scottish Cup. Being demanding I would like to have more points."

In a 32-game season last campaign Hearts finished with 49 points, a goal difference of minus three and 29 points behind third-place Rangers. This time around the team earned 54 points, their goal difference grew to plus 27 and they were 19 points off third-place Glasgow City.

That development will bring with it interest in Olid who is under contract until 2025 after signing a two-year deal last August. Her focus on the short-term is Sunday's cup final and, beyond that breaking into the top three of the women's game in Scotland.

"I remember at the beginning people would say, ’She’s Spanish, she’ll come one season and go’," Olid said. "But when you feel the club trusts you, the club believes in you, the club give you everything you ask, you cannot find a better place to be. I feel so comfortable here and just want to help the team and the club to be in the best position it can be.

"I believe next season we can be there, fighting for that third position. It’s difficult, we might need another year to do that or maybe next season is the moment. If we finish fourth but three points from third position that can be a success and then the following season you can make that next step to be third.

"I think I have always been realistic with my objectives. Last season the objective was to probably be fifth and we finish fourth because you expect Hibs to be ahead but to finish fourth was a surprise. This season, I probably expected to finish fourth with more points but I see the top three drop points compared to last season. We can push more."

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Olid's preferred style of play is a possession-based game and playing through the lines. The confidence with the ball is something she pinpoints as being one of the biggest developments since she took over and put on specific technique sessions early in her tenure.

"I like my team to have confidence with the ball," she explained. "A team that wants to play football, it’s not just kicking the ball. I like my team to enjoy the ball so for that we train with the ball, that combination play, that possession game.

"At the same time, we work to different situations that can happen. You can’t always keep possession. You need to be playing forward and more vertical. We want to play with the ball and have possession of the ball as much as possible. 

"It is nice for me to see some players who came here that were not used to that and they were kicking the ball and didn’t feel as confident with the ball to now see that progression that they want to play, are brave to play that short pass, that pass through the lines and see that improvement from the players. Now sometimes when we tell them to play long they want to play short!"

That identity is being exposed to the brightest talent at the club. A key facet of the development of the women's team is the academy and a willingness on Olid's part to integrate when and where possible. 

Kate Fraser was the latest player from the academy to be given a first-team debut when she appeared off the bench in the recent defeat to Glasgow City. She joined twins Jessica and Erin Husband and Olivia Chomczuk in having made the step up. Earlier this month, Hearts had four call-ups to the Scotland Under-23 side.

"We include them from the beginning of the season in training sessions," Olid said. "We try to give opportunities when we start having injuries. And we always call on them minimum to be on the bench if we have space in the squad. And they know when it is a matchday experience we always have them on our minds."

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For all the talk of the progress the team has made in the last three years and the potential in the future, the here and now is Sunday and the chance to win silverware after defeating The Spartans in last month's semi-final.

Of the 'big three', Rangers are the team Hearts have beaten this season and competed well against generally. It gives the team confidence that they can cause a shock against a club who are expected to win trophies, losing the final last season to Celtic and missing out on the league title to their city rivals last week.

Hearts will take joy from having reached this stage but now they are here they are eager to make that next step.

"I think nobody expects that we win but I always have a belief that anything can happen," Oldi said. "If we believe, it can happen.

"Of course they are the favourites, they have to win, if not it can be a disaster for them. But for us, we go without pressure. If we win it’s a dream, if not we will be happy for the experience. In the moment no, of course, but after we say we are happy we lived the experience.

"But once you are there you want to win, it’s not just we just play because we are so close."

Hearts v Rangers kicks off at 2.30pm on Sunday at Hampden Park. Tickets cost £12 for adults and £6 for concessions. Details HERE