Loan spells for Mole and Witteveen

Both strikers ended last season in the First Division with Raith Rovers and Morton respectively but hoped to return to Hearts' first-team squad for this week's training camp in Italy. However, Jefferies left them in Edinburgh to negotiate loan moves that will ensure they are not stagnating at Riccarton when the campaign begins.

The manager stated that the long-term futures of Mole and Witteveen will depend heavily on their performances on loan.

"If they go out on loan they are still Hearts players, so it depends how well they do," Jefferies told the Evening News. "They haven't featured greatly in recent seasons, they haven't been regulars and other players have got themselves higher up the pecking order. That's made it hard for Jamie and David, so my thoughts are that they would be better to go on loan and get regular games because there is no reserve league. There is interest in Jamie. His agent and I had a chat and I think they're looking at getting him out on loan. David Witteveen is the same. We talked a week before he came back and he might go abroad on loan, so I left him in Edinburgh because I was restricted in the numbers I could bring here to Italy."

Meanwhile, injuries precluded Lee Wallace and Gary Glen from last night's friendly match against a Barga XI at Hearts' Il Ciocco training complex. Neither complaint is considered major, although Wallace may sit out for up to a week to allow his calf problem to heal.