A fan’s guide – the club from early doors to today
These are exciting times for the third most successful club in Scottish League history, Heart of Midlothian. Three Scottish Cup finals in four years, a third-place finish in the Premiership in 2022 and reaching a European group stage after nearly 20 years have been achieved as this venerable Edinburgh institution emerged from administration to become Britain’s largest fan-owned club in 2021.
Enlightened leadership under one-time Scottish Entrepreneur of the Year Ann Budge contrasts strongly with the chaos under previous irresponsible owner, ex-Soviet millionaire Vladimir Romanov.
Returning to the Premiership in 2015 after nearly going under in 2013, Heart of Midlothian’s extrication from his disastrous clutches was a complex and near fatal process. His reign ended in 2014, on the centenary of the proudest campaign in the club’s history.
The club now makes regular forays into Europe and, another first, became the first in the UK to own and operate its own hotel inside its stadium, from February 2024. In ten years, Hearts have come an awful long way.
Heart of Midlothian, a local dancing club whose members adopted association football in 1874, rose to prominence in the 1890s, overshadowing city rivals Hibernian. Starting with eight straight wins, the team of 1914-15 was looking to claim a third Scottish crown for Hearts when duty called on the battlefield.
With key players enlisted, Hearts lost out to Celtic at season’s end but kept an emotional link with the fallen men of 1914.
The next great Hearts side came in the 1950s. Managed by ex-Hearts inside-forward Tommy Walker – no relation of the great Bobby Walker of the 1890s – Hearts claimed two championships, a Scottish Cup and four League Cups. Behind this success was the Terrible Trio of Alfie Conn Sr, Willie Bauld and Jimmy Wardhaugh, first fielded as a forward line by Walker’s predecessor, Davie McLean in 1948.
With managerial assistant Walker in place after McLean’s sudden death in 1951, and a young brave left half, Dave Mackay, emerging, high-scoring Hearts romped to their first title of the 20th century in 1958, repeating the feat two years later. By then Mackay had gone to Spurs and the young stars of 1960, striker Alex Young and left back George Thomson, would soon follow him south, to Everton.
Long eclipsed by the Old Firm, Hearts were relegated for the first time in 1977. Form improved with the funds of incoming chairman Wallace Mercer – but not fortune. Hearts went into the last game of the 1985-86 campaign needing only a point to pip Celtic to the crown. Holding Dundee at 0-0, Hearts fell to two late goals from substitute Albert Kidd, while Celtic were hitting five past St Mirren. Goal difference decided the title.
The Mercer era, when Hearts almost subsumed Hibs in a takeover bid, was long gone by the time Russo-Lithuanian entrepreneur Vladimir Romanov arrived in 2004. With the club close to selling Tynecastle, Romanov juggled huge debts between his various companies. Capriciously sacking manager George Burley after eight straight wins early in the 2005-06 campaign, Romanov brought in his son Roman as chairman.
Finishing runners-up that season, Hearts qualified for a debut crack at the Champions League. A poor record in Europe was not improved, nor the financial shenanigans behind the scenes.
Swamped by unpaid wages and taxes, Hearts went into administration in 2013, punished by a transfer ban and 15-point penalty in the league. Some 10,000 fans bought season tickets to keep the team going while many donated to the Foundation of Hearts, a supporters’ group who reached agreement with the club’s creditors.
Despite the inevitable relegation, Hearts were rescued by consortium Bidco 1874, working in tandem with the Foundation. On the pitch, a young side under manager Robbie Neilson, a cup-winning defender with Hearts in 2006, beat Championship favourites Rangers in the first game of 2014-15, and kept on winning.
Crowned champions in March, Hearts won their first five Premiership games of 2015-16 and claimed a European spot with an eventual third-place finish. Still in scoring form is promising attacking midfielder Jamie Walker, who broke into the first team as a teenager during the club’s transfer ban.The return to Europe was then marred by Birkirkara, an unsung Maltese side steeled by experienced ex-Yugos on the team and coaching staff.
Better was to follow in 2018-19. Staying afloat in the top flight, Hearts made the Scottish Cup final, losing to a late Celtic goal, then came even closer a year later when the Hoops needed penalties to settle the tie. Three times Celtic took the lead in the game, three times Hearts came roaring back, players wearing number 26 on their shorts in honour of Lithuanian centre-back, Marius Žaliūkas, a cup winner with Hearts in 2012 who had recently passed away at the age of 36.
The club’s cup run coincided with relegation, but their stay in the second tier was limited to one season as Robbie Neilson returned as manager. With the seemingly ageless Craig Gordon outstanding in goal, Hearts went the first three months of the 2021-22 campaign undefeated, tonking Celtic and drawing at Rangers.
Overcoming Hibs in the Scottish Cup semi-final, Hearts saw a chance to win the trophy, Rangers having just lost a strength-sapping Europa League final in the heat of Seville. Holding out until extra-time thanks to more heroics from keeper Gordon, the Edinburgh side eventually succumbed to the better team.
Qualifying for the Europa League by dint of a third-placed league finish, Neilson’s men maintained something of the same momentum in 2022-23, goals from new signing Lawrence Shankland pointing the way to another European adventure.
After unsuccessful trips to Florence, Zürich and Istanbul the previous season, a stoppage-time goal helped Hearts overcome wily European campaigners Rosenborg Trondheim, before defeat in the fiery cauldron of PAOK. With league form promising and Shankland still scoring to order, Hearts have pretty much established themselves as Scotland’s third club behind the Old Firm – with all the European benefits that entails.
Ground Guide
The field of dreams – and the story behind it
Set in the club’s heartland of west Edinburgh, Tynecastle became Heart of Midlothian’s first permanent home in 1886. Before then, Hearts had moved around Edinburgh, playing the first derby with Hibs at the Meadows, south of town, in 1875.
With banked terracing, capacity was already more than 60,000 by the time renowned stadium architect Archibald Leitch created a main stand in 1914. During the glory years of the 1950s, with concrete terracing, this capacity was capped at around 50,000. Infrastructure improved under Wallace Mercer as chairman in the 1980s, before post-Hillsborough developments saw new stands built on three sides.
This did not prevent the heavily indebted club from looking to sell the ground a few years later, a deeply unpopular move halted by the Romanov takeover.
Currently the stadium capacity is just under 20,000, housed in the Main Stand, as designed by Leitch a century ago, the Wheatfield Stand opposite, and the Gorgie and Roseburn Stands behind each goal. Away fans are allocated the Roseburn, through turnstiles 23-32, accessed from McLeod Street.
getting here
Going to the ground – tips and timings
Tynecastle is across the rail tracks from Murrayfield rugby ground with its own stop on the Edinburgh tramline. This is by Roseburn Street, so handy for away fans.
Alternatively, from Haymarket station, the stadium is a 15-minute walk or short hop on frequent Lothian buses 3, 25 or 33 from stop HF on Dalry Road, which leads into Gorgie Road. The nearest stop to the stadium is After Newton Street.
The sat nav code for Tynecastle Stadium is EH11 2NL. There is no club car park. One option is the Fountain Park Leisure Centre (130 Dundee Street, Edinburgh EH11 1AF), about 10mins walk away, with free parking for up to 4hrs if you visit one of the outlets, £7 thereafter.
You’ll find affordable parking at nearby Wickes (45 Stevenson Road, EH11 2SL) until the store closes (Mon-Fri 8pm, Sat 7pm, Sun 6pm). There are significant restrictions on parking at Sainsbury’s and Aldi, in the same retail park.
getting in
Buying tickets – when, where, how and how much
The club sells advance tickets online and in person. The Hearts Ticket Office (Tue-Sat 9am-5pm) operates in the club shop, left of the reception office in the main stand on Foundation Plaza. Note that online transactions carry a charge of £1.50 per ticket, up to £6 per overall purchase.
Average gates are close to capacity, so availability on the day is not a given. For enquiries, contact tickets@homplc.co.uk.
Pricing is in divided into two categories of opposition, the pricier Celtic, Hibs and Rangers, and the rest, and five categories of customer, adult, over-65, full-time student, under-18 and under-13. There are also seating categories of bronze to platinum.
A decent seat in the Main Stand or Wheatfield Stand opposite will set you back around £30, one towards the corners, £20. If there are seats available in the home Gorgie Stand, usually filled with season-ticket holders, then it’ll be around £10-£15.
what to buy
Shirts, kits, merchandise and gifts
The Hearts Clubstore (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm and match days) stocks the latest replica shirts bearing the sponsors’ name of MND Scotland. Rather than go the easy route of promoting yet another gambling firm, perhaps understandably given the club’s expenses in building a new hotel, Hearts are laudably partnering with this non-profit charity, raising money for those with motor neurone disease. It should be noted that their former captain, Marius Žaliūkas, succumbed to the condition in 2020.
Home tops are pure maroon, carrying the crest that you’ll see along the Royal Mile. Change strip is pink, with tartan-shaped touches. Third-choice is plain white with maroon cuffs, the retro look no coincidence – it was inspired by the club’s first kit of 1874, 150 years before the strip was put on sale.
The Hearts top from the early 1990s comes in jumper form, the Ajax-style one of ’72 vintage as a short-sleeved shirt. To read more about the club’s kit history, pick up Grant Young’s 51 Shirts, an illustrated history from the late 1950s onwards.
club museum
Explore the club's history inside and out
The volunteer-run Heart of Midlothian Museum (Thur-Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 10am-2pm, not match days) is accessed via Wheatfield Street – buzz in at the gate at the far end of Gerrard’s Yard.
Graphic illustrations, a video and vintage items tell the history of the club, with an expert usually on hand to help with any questions. Admission is free but contributions are welcome. Contact heritage@homplc.co.uk with any enquiries.
Where to Drink
Pre-match beers for fans and casual visitors
At the cemetery end of Angle Park Terrace, the Athletic Arms aka ‘The Diggers’ is a pre-match bar par excellence for home and away fan alike, with recommendable local beers and football on TV. The nickname is no coincidence, as the place, opened in 1897, was popular with gravediggers after the end of their shift.
Increasingly used as a pre-match bar, the Caley Sample Room on Angle Park Terrace parallel to Gorgie Road allows you to explore scores of craft beers and cask ales, complemented by a full menu and TV sport. A gastro approach appeals to a more discerning clientele – expect the Six Nations to take over the TV screens on major rugby weekends.
Between these two favourites, the bar of the Ardmillan Hotel is also busy on match days.
The nearest pub to the ground is the Tynecastle Arms, an honest local with plenty of TV sport, acoustic music nights, good choice of bottled beers and match ticket offers. Everything you need in a pre-match bar, in fact.
At the ground, season-ticket holders and those with tickets for the home end may use the Eighteen 74 Fans’ Bar, between the club shop and the Gorgie Suite, for lively pre- and post-match drinks. Integral to the main stand, the award-winning Skyline Restaurant exudes sophistication but offers a children’s menu, as well as serving quality cocktails, fine wines and Moretti on draught.
The opening of the in-stadium Tynecastle Park Hotel in February 2024, to which the restaurant is attached, extended its opening hours to three mealtimes a day, every day.
