The 2025/26 Scottish Premiership begins at Tynecastle on Monday

Derek McInnes prowled the visitors’ technical area at Tynecastle Park dozens of times over the years. Standing inside a cauldron of noise, his priority was to quieten the natives by stifling Hearts’ energy on the pitch. Those days as manager of St Johnstone, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock are gone, with McInnes now occupying the dugout across the tunnel. Now he wants those same home supporters to blast the volume and create a raucously-intimidating atmosphere.

Monday is the new Hearts head coach’s Premiership bow. There is a touch of irony in Aberdeen being the visitors, but McInnes is focused on his own environment and how to harness it. Positivity is aplenty in Gorgie just weeks into his reign after Hearts scored 16 goals in four Premier Sports Cup ties, then beat English Premier League side Sunderland 3-0 in Craig Gordon’s testimonial.

A serious competitive test is yet to come given Premier Cup games were all against lower-division sides. McInnes’ experience tells him football’s fickle nature can bring a ‘belt in the mouth’ - as he puts it - at any moment. For now, he wants to surf the crest of this wave, prolong it and take the entire Hearts support base with him. Easier said than done but plenty fans are revelling in the new-look, attacking team he is busy structuring.

Monday will indicate, to some extent, how serious the recent momentum is. The 54-year-old can feel excitement building around his new place of work. “I just want us to keep riding this wave as long as we can,” he says, speaking exclusively to the Edinburgh News. “There's a lot of optimism about and a bit of a feel-good factor. However, knowing football, the belt in the mouth is just round the corner so we need to stay on our toes. The squad is getting stronger and things are becoming a bit clearer as we go along. Saturday [against Sunderland] was a step in the right direction because you can only play what is in front of you.

“Everybody said that we should be winning those games in the League Cup, that it's not a test and Sunderland will be the test. Then we play Sunderland and we dealt with that game and that level of player. The players acquitted themselves brilliantly and fed off the crowd. That's the kind of thing I'm looking for. I want us to feed off the crowd on Monday.

“We are against an Aberdeen team that is more than capable of causing us problems, but we want to keep the positivity going as long as we can. We know there will be setbacks and disappointments as we go along. We are just trying to keep all of that to a minimum and try to expect to be a winning team more often than not.”

McInnes makes no apology for incessant demands on players. He signed seven new ones, with at least two more to follow, and is motivated to coach good footballers into better ones. “I have asked a lot of the players and I'll continue to put those demands on them. We have to keep moving forward and keep improving as we go through the season. What I can say about the players is that they have given us plenty encouragement and they aren't scared of hard work. Everybody is desperate to be part of it.

“As a manager, when you go into a new club, that's first and foremost what you are looking for - the appetite and the response from the boys. We are getting that because everybody is choking to play their part. We are all looking forward to Monday's game now and to give us the best chance we will hopefully have as many players available as possible. Then I'll try to set us up right, then try to deal with the game.

“I don't think there's anything wrong with having plenty of optimism about. I'd certainly rather have it that way. Professional players, as good as they are, need to feel that confidence. A confident player will always give you a better chance of winning. The lads are in a good place at the minute.”

Hearts fans can influence Scottish Premiership progress

Fans have a huge role to play in this mini Hearts revolution. Anger at last season’s seventh-place is still lingering within some, but the new management team have brought a fresh approach. McInnes and his assistants, Paul Sheerin and Alan Archibald, are all experienced Scottish football campaigners. They know what a good Hearts team should look like and what Tynecastle should sound like.

“All I would ask is that, if Monday isn't straightforward, I just want the fans to stay with the team and have that trust,” states McInnes. “I know we need to build that trust over a period of time, but just trust the team that we are trying to play a certain way that will allow us to win games so just stick with us as long as they can.

“As an opposition manager going to Tynecastle, you would try to make sure that wasn't the case. If the fans stick with the team and the players have that connection with supporters, I want that to be a force for us. Good or bad, we are all after the same outcome. The supporters can have a huge bearing on what happens on Monday. They really can.

“If they can stick with the team and show that support, the players will feed off it, there's no doubt about it. Hopefully we can make it a good night's work because I want Tynecastle to be exactly that type of place. Not just the atmosphere at the start of the game, I want it to feel intimidating for the opposition, I want it to feel that we are all in it together. Until that final whistle blows, everybody needs to be giving maximum effort. Any support we can get from the stands to help the players would be really appreciated.”

Style of play for new SPFL season 2025/26

Locals always respond warmly to a Hearts team pumping at full pace with aggression and a high tempo. It’s exactly what McInnes wants in an ideal world. However, just as he tried to in previous jobs, Aberdeen and other opponents will attempt to negate that approach. The hosts’ aim is to dictate the game and overwhelm their guests.

“We would like to, yes,” says McInnes. “Sometimes that isn't the case because some games can be a bit stop-start. Sunderland allowed us to come on to them. Aberdeen may well do that, they might not encourage us with their press and could go a bit longer. We train to play a certain way, move the ball quickly, get the ball into wide areas quickly, we try to play into our strikers quicker maybe than before. Not saying there is anything wrong with what has gone on before.

“We will try to annoy the opposition. We will let certain players have the ball and all that will become clearer as we go along. Saturday was a step towards where I'd like us to be against good opposition. We will do whatever we need to do. Whether we have more of the ball or less of it, the outcome is to try and win the game.”

Strikers are scoring goals to offer plenty encouragement that Hearts will be a force entering the new league campaign. Lawrence Shankland, Claudio Braga, James Wilson and Elton Kabangu all found the net in the Premier Sports Cup. Shankland and at least one of the other three will make Monday’s starting line-up.

“You can't go through a full season with two strikers,” McInnes points out. “You need to have competition and everybody has something to offer. I get to see them every day in training, how they are playing and how their form is. It also depends on the opponent. Sometimes some players are more suited to playing against a certain opponent, so there are lots of factors when picking a team.

“We've got that strength at the top end of the pitch. There is strength in numbers, quality defensively, good options in wide areas. Once we get everybody up to speed, we have good competition.”