A comment during a Hearts Standard season preview on YouTube said it all: "For now anyway, it will change in three minutes".

Fan Liam had just picked what he feels is the strongest Heart of Midlothian. But such are the options and competition amongst Steven Naismith's squad it is nearly impossible to select an XI and then stick to it.

In that moment, Liam's XI was: Gordon; Oyegoke, Kent, Kingsley; Taylor, Beni, Dhanda, Grant, Penrice; Shankland, Vargas — a 3-5-2 which featured four of the club's summer signings.

There is absolutely no doubt that Naismith will make full use of his squad. Only once last season did he keep the same XI in consecutive matches. That was due to various factors, injury, fatigue, opposition etc. With a more hectic schedule and more varied opponents, it is likely going to be more of the same with rotation and changing formation.

Now, with all that in mind, we challenged our writers and contributors to select what they think is the strongest XI from the squad assembled by Naismith. They all had free rein to tackle it however they wanted. Some took the easy option by choosing two line-ups depending on the formation.

Joel Sked

We know the team will play both a back four and a back three with certain games meriting one over the other. Because of that, I've picked an XI for each formation but I've focused on one over the other.

I really like the back three. I think it provides more solidity and balance. I know why some fans don't like it. It is a system that can look quite negative in certain circumstances, especially when it is difficult to get the wing-backs higher up the park. On the flip side, it not only allows you to get three of the midfield contingent into the team but also two up top. 

Defensively, it suits the centre-backs at Naismith's disposal and I think the team are better placed with the wing-backs to have more of an attacking involvement. Well, certainly on the right side compared to last season.

(Image: BeFunky)

No position better exemplifies the difficulty Naismith has in picking his XI than the goalkeeping situation. I've been toing and froing on this all summer. Craig Gordon produces the match-winning or point-saving moments that few other goalkeepers in Scotland can match. I'll edge for Zander Clark simply because he was very good for large parts of last season and did nothing that warranted the No.1 jersey being taken from him.

Daniel Oyegoke, Frankie Kent and Stephen Kingsley. That is a formidable backline with a bit of everything. If Oyegoke can provide some incision with the ball and the ability to take it forward with confidence in a similar manner to John Souttar that would be huge. Kye Rowles is best suited to the left-sided centre-back slot but Kingsley has been better and more consistent.

Gerald Taylor and James Penrice, to me, look best suited to wing-back roles. Both are energetic, cover plenty of ground and have a willingness to join the attack.

As for the midfield, there is so much choice. When everyone is fit, Beni Baningime and Calem Nieuwenhof take two of my three spots. Beni is one of the most accomplished players in the league in possession while Nieuwenhof is the perfect No.8. Can run all day, carries the ball and was slowly showing his attacking intent. The third and final spot could depend on the opposition. Away to the Old Firm? Cammy Devlin or Blair Spittal. In other games Yan Dhanda's creative qualities. Jorge Grant as a game-changing sub.

Lawrence Shankland and Kenneth Vargas in attack. Their attributes complement one another. It's a front pairing that should, if they get the minutes together, bang in at least 40 goals between them. If Shankland were to drop below the 30-mark, Vargas will go beyond the 15 mark.

If I was picking a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 it is far more dependent on the opposition but... Clark; Taylor, Kent, Kingsley, Rowles; Baningime, Nieuwenhof, Spittal; McKay, Shankland, Vargas.

James Cairney

I expect Naismith to tinker with the team’s shape regularly this season, but I do think that the 4-3-3 will be deployed most regularly. Even within that formation, there is room for variation in the middle – more on that shortly – but it’s safe to assume Hearts will start plenty of games with a back four and a front three.

Before we get to the outfield positions, though, there’s the small matter of who should be first choice between the sticks. On the one hand, you have Zander Clark, who performed admirably for large stretches of the previous campaign and didn’t really put a foot wrong. On the other, you have a living legend in Craig Gordon, back in contention after miraculously fighting back from what could have been a career-ending injury. Any player’s level of performance in the here and now is more important than what they have achieved in the past though, and so I think Clark deserves to hold onto his place.

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The defence is a little more straightforward. A back four of Stephen Kingsley, Frankie Kent, Daniel Oyegoke and Gerald Taylor feels very solid to me, and I think such a backline could handle most problems thrown their way. Kingsley’s inclusion at left-back over James Penrice means you perhaps lose a little bit of dynamism down that side, but I feel that all four of the above players are strong defenders first and foremost.

Naismith usually set up the midfield with Beni Baningime in the No.6 position, a natural No.8 to his right and a playmaker to the left. I think we’ll see this set-up fairly often in the new season, but I’d be surprised if Naismith didn’t opt for two No.8s with a No.10 in front of them from time to time. Either way, I’d expect Baningime to start – there is no one else quite like him, after all – and Cammy Devlin’s incredible work off the ball makes the Aussie a shoo-in I reckon. As for the playmaker role, Yan Dhanda would appear to be the standout candidate.

Up top, I don’t expect too many changes from last season. Only one attacker, Musa Drammeh, has been recruited over the summer and I suspect he will take a little time to adapt before he is a first-team mainstay. For that reason, I think we’ll see Kenneth Vargas on the right-hand side and Alan Forrest on the left. And I’m afraid there are no prizes for guessing who should spearhead the attack.

Tom Irving

With what I believe to be an improved squad this year, it made the decision a very hard task, and has led to me leaving out a couple of players I’ve been very vocal in support of. Naismith isn’t afraid to use different formations depending on the opponent, so I’ve chosen two formations with slightly different lineups that I believe are our strongest options. 

3-5-2

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Some may call this a 5-4-1, hinting at a negative and defensive set-up, but I believe it can be a very positive and attacking lineup given the players at the manager's disposal. With three strong central defenders and the best defensive midfielder in the league in the shape of Baningime, it provides the wing-backs freedom to roam up the field. Penrice, Taylor and Nieuwenhof all have great engines and can work up and down the pitch for 90 minutes, meaning that there is enough cover at the back and support in attack. 

From an attacking point of view, the creativity won’t come from the middle of the pitch, even though Nieuwenhof will be a useful asset. We will see one of Rowles or Kingsley stepping out of defence and progressing the ball forward, with Penrice and Taylor providing a lot of the width going forward. Alan Forrest will be his usual energetic self, running at players whenever he has the chance, leaving Dhanda to show his creative genius in what will look more like a free role than a right forward.

4-2-3-1

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The shape is probably slightly more attacking and with more creativity included. Hearts will often come up against teams that sit in a low block and try to soak up pressure, before going long to a target man and trying to break quickly. For these games, the team will need two things. Firstly, solid players at the back who can deal with the long ball and physical battle. For this, Kingsley and Kent are an ideal partnership. Both are fantastic in the air and absolutely love a physical fight.

On the other side of things, a vast amount of creativity in attack, and the ability to score goals out of nothing. When teams sit deep, the team need to work smarter rather than harder to break them down. There is McKay and Dhanda with their infinite levels of creativity, and Shankland and Vargas who have that eye for goal. As a front four, they are the best options for these stuffy games. 

There are options available that could be interchangeable and may have been unfairly left out of the starting lineups. Devlin and Nieuwenhof do a similar job, and Devlin may be a better option at times. We may see Oyegoke playing in place of any of the three central defenders that have been mentioned and being just as effective. We also may see Yutaro Oda in place of Forrest in a very similar role, working hard and always pestering the opposition off the ball and trying to beat players on the ball. Spittal may be a replacement for any of the four attacking players that sit in behind Shankland, with his ability to create a chance or score from nothing.

Craig Fowler

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GK - Zander Clark

Craig Gordon is sticking around for another season and anyone who knows anything about the club legend will know he's not just sticking around for a retirement tour. He's still determined to be the club's No.1. I wouldn't entirely rule out that being the case, but Clark ending last season as the first-choice keeper, and Gordon getting dropped from the Euros squad, would suggest Clark is now the better bet between the sticks.

DR - Gerald Taylor

This one is hard to select because neither Taylor nor Daniel Oyegoke have played a competitive game yet, and I do not put much stock in performances during pre-season friendlies, but it seems like Taylor is favoured by management at the moment and I trust their judgement.

DRC - Frankie Kent

If Craig Halkett returns to his pre-injury problems best then this will be an interesting battle, but at present Kent is one of the first names on the teamsheet after an excellent 2023/24 season.

DLC - Kye Rowles

Someone a little more comfortable on the ball, and a bit quicker, is needed beside Kent, and because Kingsley is somewhere else.

DL - Stephen Kingsley

Speaking of which, I like the signing of James Penrice. He was a good player at Livingston and will provide depth at this level with the potential to kick on further. But is ready to come in right away and be the best left-back at Hearts after Alex Cochrane's departure? I'm not so sure.

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DM - Beni Baningime

A tough selection between Beni and Calem Nieuwenhof. The latter's nine-game stretch to end his 2023/24 season, between scoring against Dundee in late January and playing a key role in the win over Celtic in early March, was the most consistent run of top-notch performances that any Hearts midfielder put together last season. That said, I wasn't entirely sold on Nieuwenhof before then and there's more evidence of Baningime doing it at this level. Hopefully, with his future secure, and more time to recover from his knee injury, we'll see the Congolese back to his 2021/22 best.

MC - Cammy Devlin

I'm probably a bigger Devlin fan than most. He can certainly frustrate, sometimes wasteful in possession and a little too rash out of it, but his energy isn't really replicated by anyone else at the club. Naismith looked to turn him into a box-to-box midfielder at the end of last season and I'm looking forward to seeing how this experiment has progressed over the summer.

AM - Yan Dhanda

I initially wasn't sold on Dhanda when his move to Hearts was first reported on. I wondered if he looked better because he was a big fish in a small pond, and didn't like how his performances had taken a dip around the time, like he had his head turned by the interest. But once the move was secured he really knuckled down and played a huge part in Ross County's survival, which showed great character. I'm unsure about how well he and Barrie McKay will coexist in the same team, as they may both be a little too slight and seek to operate in the same areas, but until I get confirmation on those doubts he represents the best bet here on paper.

FR - Kenneth Vargas

I'm looking forward to seeing how he'll kick on further after improving bit by bit through his debut season. He represents some much-needed pace in attack in this team.

FC - Lawrence Shankland.

You all know why.

FL - Barrie McKay

McKay hasn't been at his best since his debut season. He suffered a dip in form in 2022/23 and then spent most of last term out injured. That said, I remain a huge fan of his talents and thought he really brought something back to the team in the dying embers of last term following his recovery. If he and Dhanda can't co-exist, I'd be looking to bring in Blair Spittal to play centrally and keep McKay on the left.

Scott McIntosh

Similar to Steven Naismith, I feel there is no need for a one-size-fits-all approach given the strength in depth we now have within the squad after what has been a very proactive spell of transfer activity that dates back to January of this year.  I would personally like to see us switch from a 4-2-3-1 to a 3-5-2 depending on the fixture/circumstances facing the team.

4-2-3-1

Let's address the downside to this system first of all. The lone focal point up top can easily get isolated and the double pivot from a deeper starting position will see us take longer to offer more support in the final third so it would not lend itself well to an aggressive pressing game or in games when we will be expecting to have the lion's share of the ball against a low block. It does however provide easy flexibility into a 4-3-3 and options to recycle possession providing the right personnel is in place to play progressive passes from the pivot to the number 10. 

Looking at the current squad, there are a few surprise individuals that I believe would flourish within this structure. Macaulay Tait may be overlooked by most due to the abundance of options we have in midfield but with the right No.6 alongside him, could be a standout in this formation with either Liam Boyce or Lawrence Shankland playing in the No.10 role, making intelligent runs across the back line to create space for Kenneth Vargas to exploit.

With Kye Rowles slotting in at left back, it could offer Steven Naismith the opportunity to switch to a three effortlessly whilst Gerald Taylor patrols the right side of the pitch and could exclude Rowles from having to engage in the types of physical battles which have been his Achilles heel at times since moving to the club two years ago.

Once we have all our players fit and potentially Malachi Boateng with a scarf above his head, then this is how I would like to see the 4-2-3-1 shape up:

(Image: BeFunky)

3-5-2

I would really like to see us set up in this manner in away fixtures when it's important to start fast and aggressive and with the No.8 options we have available, it would allow us to potentially press teams high and provide fast support to the front pairing. Within this system, the likes of Cammy Devlin and Calem Nieuwenhof could flourish and with 3 centre backs on the pitch, it would help neutralise opponents who will look for quick direct transitions.

Here is an example of how we could set up with this shape:

(Image: BeFunky)