Liam Boyce shares the Hearts transfer blend that can help new stars adapt as plan to help Shankland outlined

Hearts' Liam Boyce | SNS Group

Liam Boyce says a mix of Premiership experience and fresh faces can be a perfect Hearts transfer mix.

Head coach Steven Naismith has gone abroad for some of his summer signings including Gerald Taylor and Musa Drammeh, with Andres Salazar also set to arrive. Daniel Oyegoke is a defensive addition from Brentford but signings have also been made from domestic sides.

Blair Spittal, Yan Dhanda, James Penrice and Malachi Boateng all come to Tynecastle with Scottish football experience aplenty, and they are the ones who can help those adapting to the game settle. Boyce explained ahead of the Premiership opener with Rangers: "I think the biggest thing was getting people in early at the start of pre-season.

“People like Yan you have played against him, Spitts and stuff. Musa coming, he's added something different, more pace and more direct, he's got a good strong strike on him and it will be more about him learning the game in Scotland. That is when Spitts and Yan come in.

“They have played in Scotland and you know how creative they are, they will be involved in creating chances for other players. There's more options and every year I am here it seems we are adding different types of players to play against different types of teams. It is only going to put us in a good position if we need to change the team against a certain style of opposition, then we have the options we need.

“Gerald and stuff coming in, big Dan (Oyegoke) has just slid in. We know Yan and Spitts from playing against them and talking to other players. It helped with Musa and Gerald coming in to have Kenny already here.

“They speak good English but it makes you more comfortable when you can relax and speak Spanish with them. We all try and learn Spanish words. It’s good to get them in, they are questioning peoples nicknames, why does their name change from Halkett to Halks, Shankland to Shanks? They have all fitted in really well and they are joining in all the banter.”

“People might get injured, you need to be ready. As Naisy says to us, ‘if you’re not playing well there is always going to be someone coming in to take your position’, and that is going to drive the standards higher and higher. For a club like Hearts that’s where you need to be, when I came here I was expecting that, everyone needs to be excepting people to push you and you need to be on your A-game to play.”

Lawrence Shankland was the club talisman last season, and Boyce is keen to take some of the scoring burden off his attacking partner. Alongside the rest of the final third arsenal, the Northern Irishman insists the onus is on all of them to net, not just Shankland.

He added: "As a team, it's not only me, all of our attacking players need to sort of take a bit of the burden off Shanks. He is always going to score goals, the way he plays, he is always going to score. For us to be comfortable in games we all need to start chipping in as if he is scoring a goal a game and we are chipping in, it's going to make it easier for us as a team.

“He was captain on the pitch when Craig wasn't playing, and he always leads by example. It's weird, in training he is happy and joking then the second he steps on the pitch he is like a different person, aggressive, and that is sort of what you need.

“He knows he wants to win games and we all need to have that sort of mentality. We need to do whatever it takes to win and if that is us taking the burden off him and scoring goals, which I think will happen this year, then it's only going to be better for the team and that is the way we need to think."