Target men: Hearts aim to bolster squad with new faces

Preliminary talks have taken place with midfielder Michael Stewart but Fedotovas refused to say whether those would be taken further. Hearts are also lining up a central defender from abroad in order to reinforce new manager Paulo Sergio's injury-ravaged squad.

"We are working currently on a number of possible signings," Fedotovas told the Evening News. "I am only confident when I have a signature on paper but we are working on two or three people possibly coming to the club. There is still a lot of work required because it is international transactions. We need to keep working and see if we can get these things sorted."

Sergio is keen to sign a new centre-back whilst Vladimir Romanov remains an admirer of Stewart. The 30-year-old left Tynecastle under acrimonious circumstances last May after being stripped of the captaincy by then-manager Jim Jefferies.

He is now being considered for a third spell with Hearts following moves to Genclerbirligi of Turkey and League One side Charlton Athletic, although discussions so far have only been tentative.

Meanwhile, Hearts will be Tottenham Hotspur's first competitive opponents of the season following the postponement of the London club's opening Premier League match with Everton. The game was cancelled following rioting around Tottenham which has damaged the area surrounding White Hart Lane. Spurs meet Hearts at Tynecastle on Thursday in the first leg of the Europa League play-off.

Hearts have secured an extra 610 tickets for the second leg, increasing their allocation at White Hart Lane from 1817 to 2427. Officials at Tynecastle were not expecting to receive more briefs having initially been handed 1817 tickets.

However, Tottenham yesterday released extras with 3000-4000 Hearts followers expected to travel to London for the game on August 25.