Hearts appoint Belgian Vrancken as head coach

By Thomas Duncan BBC Sport Scotland Published 25 June 2026, 11:35 BST Updated 16 minutes ago By Clive Lindsay BBC Sport Scotland Hearts have appointed Wouter Vrancken - Belgian football's manager of the year - as their new head coach a week after Derek McInnes left for Rangers. The 47-year-old former Genk and Sint-Truiden boss has signed a two-year contract at Tynecastle. Vrancken left hometown club Sint-Truiden this summer after leading them to third place in the Belgian Pro League - their highest finish in 60 years - in his first full season in post. He takes charge of a Hearts side who missed on their first top-flight league title since 1960 after a final-day defeat by champions Celtic. Having managed four Belgian teams, Vrancken now helms a first club outside his homeland and was "courted by many European sides" before opting for Hearts, the Scottish Premiership club say. Who is Hearts target Wouter Vrancken? Published 7 minutes ago Visit our Hearts page for all the latest news, analysis and fan views Get Hearts news notifications in the BBC Sport app Published 18 June 2023 Former midfielder Vrancken began his playing career with Sint-Truiden before going on to Gent, Genk and Mechelen. He would later manage all those clubs. Having started his coaching career in Belgium's lower leagues, his return to the top flight was as assistant at another of his former sides, Kortrijk. He took over as boss of Mechelen in 2018 and led them to promotion and the Belgian Cup in the same season before three top-eight finishes in the top flight. With Genk, he missed out on the title in a three-way final-day climax with Royal Antwerp and Union St-Gilloise in 2022. Genk would win the title in 2025, but by then Vrancken had moved to Gent, who finished sixth. Joining Sint-Truiden last April, he steered them clear of relegation trouble before turning them into title contenders last season as the club secured Europa League football for the first time. What can Hearts expect from Vrancken? Belgian football consultant and podcaster Scott Coyne believes it is "a bit of a coup" for Hearts to have secured Vrancken. "He could have gone to France or Germany and I think he's picked Hearts because of the Champions League football, because of Edinburgh," he said. "I think there's something about Hearts' success last season - he sees a template over the next two, three, four years potentially to go and do something really interesting. "He likes really direct and fluid football. So think quick transitions, lots of player rotations, an aggressive press, lots of overloads, fluidity in the wing play as well, so his wing-backs and his wingers are going to be out wide a lot. "He might give you defensive headaches sometimes because he's one of those coaches who does like to go pretty gung-ho. So you will concede some goals playing in a Wouter Vrancken side, but you'll also score a lot as well. "He's excellent with sides on limited resources, getting them to really punch above their wei