Hearts opened Wouter Vrancken’s spell as head coach with a 4-0 defeat by Sturm Graz in Champions League qualifying, compounding what BBC News described as a damaging summer at Tynecastle.
The loss came after Hearts narrowly missed out on a first league title in 60 years at the end of last season, before losing several influential figures. Captain and top scorer Lawrence Shankland departed after a clause in his contract allowed him to leave without a fee, while head coach Derek McInnes moved to Ibrox.
Cammy Devlin, described in the BBC report as a talisman and fan favourite, also left. The club had ruled out a return in a statement on X before he was later pictured with a royal blue shirt.
Vrancken arrived with a strong reputation from Belgium, having been named Belgian coach of the year and having taken Racing Genk close to the title. He had also been linked with Anderlecht and Burnley, and told supporters early in his tenure that he wanted “chaos within a structure”.
His first match brought more difficulty than encouragement on the scoreboard. Hearts were heavily beaten by Sturm Graz, although the BBC noted that the attacking statistics suggested the Scottish side were not completely overrun.
Hearts created two notable first-half chances, with Pierre Landry Kabore shooting at the goalkeeper and Alexandros Kyziridis missing when one-on-one. By the time further openings arrived, Hearts were already four goals behind.
Speaking on the Scottish Football Podcast, Hearts Standard editor Joel Sked said early impressions suggested Hearts had “a really good head coach”, but added that patience would be required after recent events.
For Hearts, Vrancken’s early task is now to steady a side adjusting to key departures while trying to recover from a bruising European start.
