New-look Hearts emerge from crazy two months to start latest adventure in Champions League

Two months on from the most harrowing end to a season, Hearts are back in competitive action on Tuesday night when they take on Sturm Graz in a Champions League qualifier.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since May 16, when Hearts conceded two goals in the final four minutes of the Premiership campaign at Parkhead to be pipped at the post by Celtic for the league crown.

Since then, manager Derek McInnes, captain Lawrence Shankland and midfielder Cammy Devlin have all joined Rangers. Veteran goalkeeper Craig Gordon has retired. A new head coach, Belgian Wouter Vrancken, is at the helm. Eight summer signings have been made - with a ninth on the way in the shape of midfielder Laurent Mendy.

Amadou Ba-Sy and Josh McPake are among eight new signings at Hearts. | Getty Images

Life is rarely dull down Gorgie way but the 66 days between the cruellest, most painful end to a campaign and the start of the 2026/27 season have been action-packed. Some would call them bonkers. So much has changed.

This Champions League second qualifying round match in Austria is the fruit of Hearts’ labour last term. Reaching the main phase of the tournament requires being victorious across two legs not only against Sturm Graz but two further ties. It is a hazardous journey to European football’s promised land. Should Hearts overcome the Austrians, they play Fenerbahce of Turkey or Polish side Gornik Zabrze next.

Just last week, Fenerbahce spent more than £30 million on striker Mason Greenwood. Hearts are rubbing shoulders with the big boys.

It is where they want to be under the watch of shareholder Tony Bloom, whose investment and scouting prowess have opened such doors for the Jambos. His model means that whoever goes through the exit, the replacements are adequate and more. The aim is to swiftly forget about McInnes, Shankland and Co.

‘This means a lot for Hearts’

Vrancken has so far made a positive impression. The straight-talking Belgian is managing outside of his homeland for the first time but has experience of European competition with Genk. On Friday night, his Hearts team defeated Rayo Vallecano 2-1 in a friendly at Tynecastle and impressed against last season’s Conference League runners-up.

“This means a lot,” said Vrancken of the Champions League assignment awaiting Hearts. “I think every player dreams of playing in the Champions League, but also in Europe generally. If you can qualify already and know you're guaranteed European games until the winter or into next year, it would be great.”

Defeat Sturm Graz over the two games and the worst Hearts will get is a crack at the Europa League main phase. Losing means slipping into the third qualifying round of that competition, where Benfica or St Gallen lie in wait. The Austrians finished second behind LASK Linz in their Bundesliga and have designs of going back to the Champions League proper, where they were two years ago.

“We know how important Tuesday is,” said their coach Fabio Ingolitsch. “We don't want to think too much about the Champions League or Europa League. We just focus on the game tomorrow and next week. We want to go through this round and then see what is coming next.

“We played the last four years in the group phases of Champions League and the Europa League and this is big for this club. It's coming really fast with the first qualification game and we had a lot of pre-season games to get ready for this game.”

Wouter Vrancken is in the Hearts dugout this season. | Getty Images

The Merkur Arena is expected to be close to its 17,000 capacity for this match. Sturm Graz played both Celtic and Rangers last season, losing to the former in Glasgow but overcoming the latter in Austria. They are favoured to progress but this isn’t an insurmountable task for Hearts. Far from it.

Among their eight new signings is French striker Amadou Ba-Sy, who recovered from an illness to score both goals in the win over Rayo Vallecano. Procured from Rouen, Ba-Sy is an imposing target man and should take some of the strain left by Shankland’s departure in attack. Hearts changed their European squad at the last minute to include the 25-year-old for this match.

“When you saw him in the Rayo game, I think when you play your first 45 minutes after a few weeks of training and have that much impact, it would have been a mistake on my side to leave Amadou out,” said Vrancken, who remained coy on whether Ba-Sy will start. “It depends,” the coach smiled. “When he starts, he's now at 45 minutes and it worked pretty well, actually. We'll see tomorrow how many minutes we give him.”

Claudio Braga is set to lead the line despite persistent links with Lyon. Goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow is likely to start despite his move to Mainz next month. There could be debuts at the back for Malachi Fagan-Walcott, Tom Renaud in midfield, plus Sabri Guendouz in attack. There is an element of unknown to this Hearts team.

More than 1,300 intrigued and excited Hearts fans will be in Graz to watch their heroes, who will be led on the pitch by Harry Milne, one of four vice-captains for newly-appointed but injured skipper Craig Halkett. Not for 20 years have the Tynecastle side been involved in Champions League qualifiers. “I don't think I need to give them [the fans] a message,” said Vrancken. “When you saw them react in the friendly against Rayo, you could feel the synergy that you can create when you perform well on the pitch and the fans really get behind the team.

“We have to do the same on Tuesday. We have to be there from the first minute, showing that we want to fight for our colours. The fans will be behind us. It's just incredible and amazing to see how many people have come here to support us.”

It could be the start of an epic journey, hot on the heels of the last one. A happier ending is hoped for.