The hard work has already begun for Steven Naismith and his players. Last week, the Heart of Midlothian squad returned from their pre-season training camp in Tenerife after the coaching staff put their charges through their paces ahead of the new Scottish Premiership campaign.

Two players – Nathaniel Atkinson and Toby Sibbick – were left behind, with Naismith providing an update on interest in the duo. Lawrence Shankland and Zander Clark are back with the squad after being part of the Scotland squad at Euro 2024 and could feature against Tottenham Hotspur this evening while Kenneth Vargas returns this week.

There have been seven new arrivals since the transfer window reopened. James Penrice, Blair Spittal and Yan Dhanda are all in the building having signed pre-contracts earlier in the year, and back-up goalkeeper Ryan Fulton signed on a free transfer. Daniel Oyegoke and Musa Drammeh were recruited from Brentford and Sevilla respectively and, most recently, Costa Rican right-back Gerald Taylor finalised his move to Tynecastle Park.

There have been a few notable departures too. Alex Cochrane joined Birmingham City on Wednesday. Peter Haring, Andy Halliday and Michael McGovern all moved on once their contracts expired at the end of last season, while Dexter Lembikisa and Scott Fraser returned to their respective parent clubs upon the expiration of their loan deals. Lewis Neilson has returned from his loan spell at Partick Thistle and will be keen to establish himself as a first-team player, and Vargas’ loan move has been made permanent. 

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All of this leaves the Hearts squad in a healthy place going into the new season. We can probably expect to see a few more comings and goings before the window closes at the end of August, but substantial overhauls and sweeping changes are unlikely. The vast majority will still be plying their trade in EH11 when the window slams shut and squads are finalised. Naismith got most of his shopping done early on.

It begs an obvious question: how is the squad shaping up ahead of the new season?

Like most managers, Naismith likes having options when it comes to selecting his team every week. The Hearts head coach is very much of the opinion that football is a squad game, that certain players have unique skill sets that make them especially suitable (or unsuitable) for particular opponents. A minimum of two players are realistically required for each position, but that maxim gets a little more complex when we recall that Naismith often chops and changes his system between a 4-3-3 and a 3-5-2 formation.

The graphic below details Hearts’ current squad depth ahead of the new campaign. The formation shows each distinct position in the team and you can view the depth of each position by hovering over it. Each player is only included once but it’s important to note that versatile players like Stephen Kingsley can fulfil multiple roles within the squad.

Hearts are pretty well-stocked across the park. Each position has at least three players vying for a place in the starting XI, while some players’ versatility means that figure rises to four or even five in certain areas. Even if we assume that Atkinson and Sibbick are away, there remain plenty of options in defence. There is a healthy level of competition in central midfield and at centre-forward. In fact, barring any further departures, the squad looks very well-balanced.

Naismith has made it clear that each and every member of the squad will be relied upon at some point or another during the upcoming campaign. With Hearts likely to play upwards of 50 games, the head coach will need plenty of options. Add in the former Scotland internationalist’s preference to rotate his team whenever possible – Hearts only played the same starting XI in back-to-back matches on one occasion last term – and we can conclude that Naismith will be keen to have plenty of players to choose from.

Barring any unexpected departures, Naismith will have just that. He has moved quickly to flesh out his squad and plug gaps from the previous campaign – and the Hearts squad is in a good place as a result with youngsters continuing to push from the B team as well.

The graphic below shows the full Hearts squad for the 2024/25 campaign, as well as the length of each player's contract. Those in red are expected to depart this summer, and blue denotes a member of the B team.