Hearts players won’t get away with anything – Frankie Kent reveals the standards at Riccarton.
The SPFL Scottish Premiership season 2025/26 begins at Tynecastle against Aberdeen. “We don’t really want to talk about what happened last year because of how bad it was.” That is most likely a wise move by Hearts.
After finishing seventh in the William Hill Premiership, players are looking forward to the new season rather than reflecting on the previous one. The Derek McInnes era begins in 2025/26 with a new management team and a slew of new players. Aberdeen are the first opponents at Tynecastle Park on Monday, and defender Frankie Kent is grateful for the new beginning.
He was injured for a significant portion of last season, rendering him unable to assist teammates in need. “Yes, it wasn’t nice.
Obviously, I came back in as one of the top six who had already finished,” he explained. “I took a bit of a back seat last year because of how much time I missed due to my injury. “I know how much it hurt the other boys to not make the top six despite knowing we were more than capable of doing so.
We simply did not meet the standards or expectations set last year. We want to make that right, and we’re excited to do so.
It’s just a fresh start, and we’re hoping to build on the pre-season, the cup games, the positivity and good feeling around the place, and put it into the first game.”
McInnes is overhauling the first team to create a more aggressive and attacking Hearts. New players gelled during a pre-season trip to Spain before returning to coast for the Premier Sports Cup group stage. The Premiership will be far more competitive, but new players such as Claudio Braga, Stuart Findlay, and Alexandros Kyziridis have settled in quickly.
“I think nowadays it’s essential for boys to try and fit in so that all the boys are getting on well with each other as much as they can,” pointed out Kent. “Big change, big group, but we’ve spent a lot of time together already. I believe the week in Spain was particularly beneficial, as the majority of the new boys were already present.
We have good characters and attitudes in our group. The boys have joined our already close-knit group. I think everyone did pretty well.” The squad has grown to over 30 members, making it difficult to fit everyone into the changing room at Riccarton.
“It’s tight,” Kent said, smiling. “Because of the number of boys we have, it’s essentially a one-in-one-out situation. Obviously, there is the possibility of new ones coming in.
It’s exciting, however. It is what you want. As I previously stated, you are looking for new challenges. You want new boys coming in and stuff like that. You only have to deal with one of them.
It’s probably the first time in my career that there has been such a large turnover of players and an influx of players, but it’s good.” Kent is expected to play a regular role in Hearts’ most competitive squad to date. “It’s definitely the biggest, yeah,” he said, laughing.
“In some ways, this is advantageous because it promotes competition. You have to fight for your position. So, since we returned, training has been extremely intense, with everyone attempting to impress and prove themselves to be an important member of the team.
There are many high-quality players. It’s exciting to see. I believe you need a refresher from time to time. It is beneficial for players to have competition and motivation to demonstrate to others that, “Yeah, you are coming in, but I am going to show you as well.” “And vice versa.”
McInnes and his coaching staff prioritise training tempo and intensity on a daily basis. Players have taken note of the demands placed on them, which are intended to motivate them to achieve peak performance. Anyone who considers slacking or relaxing will be quickly identified. ” In general, training standards apply to everyone.
“That’s due in large part to the new manager and coaches,” Kent stated. “We’re just trying to impress them and be 100% on it every day.” Obviously, everyone wants to be on the squad, to be a valuable member of the squad, and to be among the first 11. That, I think, is both positive and encouraging.
Hopefully, that can serve as a benchmark for future standards, particularly in training. This manager and his coaching staff will not let you get away with anything else. So, yeah, it’s been good.”
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