Heart of Midlothian have confirmed the appointment of former player Lee Wallace as the under-18s' assistant coach.

The 37-year-old has been around the club for about 12 months coaching, most recently with the under-16s. The time allowed him to revalidate his coaching licence. He is the second former Hearts player to be appointed into a prominent coaching role within the academy following the announcement of Angus Beith as assistant to Liam Fox for the B team.

Wallace is a graduate of the Hearts academy and went onto make 160 appearances for the club before being signed by Rangers for a seven-figure fee. After eight years at Ibrox he moved to Queens Park Rangers before retiring in 2022.

Andrew Webster, the club's academy director, detailed the process that led to Wallace's return to the club and explained that he interviewed well for the position.

“I first got back in touch with Lee around August last year," he told the club's official website. "We had a very in-depth discussion around his coaching journey and also his learning to date.  At that time, Lee's UEFA B licence had elapsed, but I could see and feel from our initial chat the passion he had for coaching. 

“Emma Hunter very kindly agreed to allow Lee to volunteer within our girls’ academy to pass on his knowledge and expertise, whilst allowing Lee to revalidate his coaching licence.

"From there an opportunity arose in the boys’ academy to join Steven Hamilton with the U16s group. Lee's enthusiasm for developing the players was clear to see from the outset. 

“The group benefitted from this, which along with other staff, helped a large number of the players earn full-time professional contracts.  With the restructuring in the professional phase, an opportunity came up to assist David McNeil with the boys U18s. 

“Lee interviewed very well and along with his time already spent in the academy, was offered the full-time position.  In the short period of time, himself and David, along with Donald Park, have been working with the group, the younger U18s have integrated seamlessly into the full-time environment and the older players are able to benefit form a very high level of coaching.

“I have no doubt all the group will benefit from Lee's passion and enthusiasm for developing young players and I am excited to see this over the coming months and years.”