Heart of Midlothian defeated East Kilbride 8-0 in a friendly played behind closed doors on Tuesday night as they prepared for their Premier Sports Cup group round match against Dunfermline Athletic.

Hearts had seven different scorers, and 21 players played at least 45 minutes.

Zander Clark was the only player that received 90 minutes. Head coach Derek McInnes complimented the manner the players pressed their opponents as “magnificent” preparation. “It was a good game for us because of how East Kilbride like to play,” remarked the captain. “They aim to dominate the ball and bring teams to you. So, even just from a purely fitness point of view, it was perfect.

“I usually enjoy playing a team like them in the preseason because you know you’ll have to go after them.

You know you’ll need to be organised. You’re going to have to be bob-on, or they’ll get through your press. We were fantastic at that, turning the ball over. “I wouldn’t say we were clinical since we missed so many opportunities.

However, you must get all of your strikers in front of the goal, scoring goals and passing up golden opportunities. All of my attacking players got engaged. But having a clean sheet was beneficial. We never experienced any real scares.

“I thought that having a game like that would be beneficial to the players in terms of fitness and confidence.

“It wasn’t easy. We had to work hard. East Kilbride will do all right this year. I think they could win that league. I genuinely think they’ve got a level of player there and they’re used to winning and they’ve got a lot of confidence.

“So we had to do so much to try and get on top of them. But I’m not going to dwell too much on a pre-season. Even if we hadn’t won last night, it still wouldn’t detract from what’s really important, which is Saturday. But it doesn’t do us any harm.”

Oisin McEntee, who signed as a midfielder, got his 45 minutes at right-back. It allowed McInnes to take a look at the player in the position, while also allowing him to get as many of the first-team players 45 minutes.

“We just wanted a wee look, to be honest,” he explained. “Again, in preseason, part of the challenge is trying to fit everyone in. We looked at it, and one or two people were clearly disappointed as a result. But we wanted to get more out of the senior guys, who I believe have a chance. “There were two separate teams. Again, it was simply to have a quick look. “He has played right of a three, wing back, and I view him more as an eight, but he has that utility status that us managers value.

I merely wanted to please myself and take a quick glance at him in that position.”

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