Gary Mackay: Player exits may be key to Hearts signings

Some big players on big salaries may need to go

Hearts players will be boosted by Craig Gordon's arrival.

A big issue at Hearts now is which players we are going to start the new season with. Much will depend on who moves on from the current first-team squad.

Can we continue with the quality of player we have between now and October, and still pay them all the salaries they are on? That’s a fairly critical question I would suggest.

Maybe we need to try to move a few on, which then prompts the question of who do we then bring in? That’s another important matter.

The fact that we have already brought in Craig Gordon is encouraging. If that’s the calibre of signing we are targeting to try and get back into the Premiership, then we are setting our marker very high.

It gives you a real boost as a player when you see something like that happening, a big signing coming in to strengthen the squad. Craig is a Scotland internationalist and his capture is a real coup for the club.

I would imagine, assuming Craig stays fit, he won’t just be coming in to play in the Championship. He will be ready for the Premiership when the time comes, and hopefully that time is next summer.

Incomings are what a lot of supporters focus on and that’s understandable. Right now at Hearts, I think they will be looking at who is surplus to requirements and work from there.

The potency in attacking areas wasn’t there last year so, if we can, I think we need to add that. Robbie Neilson seems to think we need wide players and a midfield player to strengthen that department, and I’m happy to go along with his judgment.

We do need legs in the team at Hearts, there is no question about that. Both out wide and in the middle, we need people who can cover the ground.

We will also need people who are mentally strong. We are the club every other team will be trying to beat and that brings a certain pressure. The mentality has to be strong within the group to handle it.

With the decisions made, with the huge desire to come back to the top flight in a year’s time, I sense there will be a fair bit of motivation about the club and the players.

They will want to show that last season wasn’t the real Hearts. They will want to get back to where they belong and made sure that, come season 2021/22, they are ready for the Premiership once again.

A message from the Editor: Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our advertisers – and consequently the revenue we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. Subscribe to the Edinburgh Evening News online and enjoy unlimited access to trusted, fact-checked news and sport from Edinburgh and the Lothians. Visit https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.