How Hearts stars have been preparing for pre-season

The off-season for football players has evolved. Long breaks of inactivity with maybe a few runs prior to a gruelling pre-season has morphed into a more structured, focused mindset and programme.

Heart of Midlothian head coach Steven Naismith noted being a footballer is now more than a job or a career, it’s a lifestyle.

His squad will return to pre-season on Wednesday and many will have done so by working with a coach or personal trainer to ensure they are in ideal shape to tackle the next five or so weeks ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

Three of the Hearts team, Barrie McKay, Aidan Denholm and Craig Halkett, have done so with Kevin Kelly who runs Platinum Player, an elite-level private training programme in the west of Scotland.

He has worked with players for over a decade and counts the likes of Johnny Russell, Moussa Dembele, Odsonne Edouard, Olivier Ntcham, John Souttar, Scott Allan and Scott Fraser as current or former clients.