Which Hearts players will face Spurs, when Kenneth Vargas is back, and when James Penrice will be ready

Wednesday’s pre-season friendly at Tynecastle will see another new face

Gerald Taylor is poised to make his first Hearts appearance in Wednesday’s friendly against Tottenham Hotspur at Tynecastle Park. The Costa Rican defender completed a loan move from Deportivo Saprissa last week and is one of seven new recruits integrating themselves within the first-team squad at Riccarton.

Hearts supporters are expected to see him in the flesh for the first time when Spurs visit Gorgie for a glamour friendly. Also due to make an appearance for the home team are goalkeeper Zander Clark and captain Lawrence Shankland. They returned to club duties last week following international duty with Scotland at the European Championship.

“They'll be involved on Wednesday and then they'll follow the first-team schedule from now on,” said the Hearts head coach Steven Naismith when asked about Taylor, Clark and Shankland. “Today is the first day that I've seen them [Clark and Shankland] and I've not spoken to them about Scotland at all. It was more about their holidays and if they enjoyed their time off, how they feel personally.

“There will be disappointment, without a doubt, with the way the Euros campaign went. But there's then a lot to look forward to with us this season, being in Europe, the challenge of bettering what we did last season. They seem to be back to their normal ways in training.”

Taylor’s international colleague Kenneth Vargas is scheduled to report back to Riccarton before the week is out. “He'll be back at the end of the week,” said Naismith. “It's just all down to when their last game was [with Costa Rica]. We believe that the players who have been away need time to rest more than fitness. I'm not going to compromise on that. He'll be ready for the first game of the season, and hopefully he starts like he finished last season.”

Another one being eased back into pre-season is James Penrice, the left-back Hearts signed last month following the expiry of his contract at Livingston. He underwent surgery back in February to deal with a hip Flexor injury and is now approaching full fitness.

“It'll be a week or two before he's back involved in games but that is to make sure he's robust enough,” explained Naismith. “He's had a stop-start time for the past year and we don't want to risk it for short-term gain. He is looking really sharp. It's us holding him back.”

Saturday’s friendly against Leyton Orient saw midfielder Aidan Denholm utilised at right wing-back. That was partly down to the personnel available to Hearts, but also part of the 20-year-old’s development process. “It was a bit of both,” confirmed Naismith. “I think he is a midfielder but he's intelligent and I think he's got the all-round attributes that he can play there.

“I encourage most of the young players to try different positions because, if you can play three or four positions, there's more chance of you getting a game. He has been really receptive to it and wanted to learn. He showed in Saturday's game that there were loads of good moments. That energy to get up and down the pitch, he's got that comfortably. I think he can play both positions but ultimately I do think he is a midfielder.”

Denholm played a similar role in training drills during Hearts’ pre-season camp in Tenerife. “It was partly the personnel that was out there but also I do see it as a good opportunity for him,” added Naismith. “He learns from it and can focus on that position rather than jumping between positions in training sessions. It's down to his intelligence. He understands fundamentally what you need to do in attack and defensively, and when you're vulnerable. He's someone who can develop that as a secondary position.”

Naismith is looking forward to welcoming Spurs and their manager, Ange Postecoglou, to Edinburgh. He struck up a relationship with the Australian coach during his initial period as interim Hearts manager last year. Postecoglou was in charge at Celtic at the time and left a very positive impression on his opposite number.

“The way he plays was different and it gets you intrigued. You definitely learn from that,” commented Naismith. “My experience of Ange was when I was caretaker with Hearts. We played Celtic on the day they could win the league and he didn't really need to give me much time of day, but he did. He made a point of it before the game and was very complimentary.

“He had never met me. He probably asked a few people around at Celtic who had worked with me at Scotland [national team]. After the game, again he was very complimentary. He just said if he could ever help, he will be in contact. Then he texted me randomly out of the blue. He didn't need to give me that time of day, he never knew if I would become the manager here or not. For a young coach, that's invaluable to get somebody of his experience to lean on. Fortunately, I have done that since then.”

Postecoglou speaks fondly of Scottish football and has talked it up many times since moving to the English Premier League last summer. “He's got the players' backs and the managers' backs. I think he has a good understanding of the game,” said Naismith. “He's got loads of knowledge and experience.

“The biggest thing that comes to mind for me is his calmness. At the start with Celtic, he was getting hounded by everybody but there was a calmness there and that helped him to be successful in Scotland - and also in the tougher moments with Spurs. I think he appreciated what the product is in Scotland. Not everybody appreciates what it is but it does have a lot of talent in it.”