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Wouter Vrancken on Hearts' new left-back, injuries and Dundee Utd bid for Tom Renaud

· Barry Anderson · 2026-08-09 · nguồn gốc

Wouter Vrancken discusses Hearts' new left-back & Harry Milne's injury, and Dundee Utd bid to sign Tom Renaud Edinburgh club beat Dundee United 4-0 at Tynecastle on Sunday Wouter Vrancken heaped praise on his Hearts players following their 4-0 win over Dundee United, emphasising an all-round strong team performance in his first win in charge. The Tynecastle side were 2-0 ahead inside 12 minutes thanks to Tom Renaud’s spectacular long-range strike and Calvin Miller’s penalty. Claudio Braga and Josh McPake scored in the second half to complete an impressive first Premiership victory. Miller lined up at left-back due to Hearts’ defensive injuries and was one of the best players on the pitch. The former Falkirk winger defended strongly and got forward well in a dominant display. McPake also took his chance further forward and scored a well-taken goal to round off the scoring at 4-0. Afterwards, Vrancken looked delighted as he discussed a first win following four straight defeats in his first four games. “I’m very happy. I think we played some good football,” he said. “We showed some team spirit, team mentality. It was all in it. I'm just really happy for the players because they worked hard already. They needed some good results, like we said already before a few times, to create this extra kind of confidence. You saw also during the game the confidence growing. You saw also the nervousness on the ball was a little bit gone. They had to play, they had to use the spaces and some great goals.” He laughed when asked about Miller’s display at full-back. “I told him already - he doesn't want to hear it - but we found a new full-back I think,” smiled the Belgian. “No, it was good. The guys were ready. They knew what to do and this is what we want to see. We cannot only count on 11 players, especially with those amount of games. It's good to see that they are all ready and that they can pick up. “I have to say from Cal, it was amazing. Sometimes when you take a player out of his position to fill up some gaps, let's say, then they don't do it with all their heart. But when you see Calvin play today, it was amazing to see how much he brought in the game. He brought the extra and he was defensively solid. I’m really happy about his performance, but in general of course because he's played out of position.” With left-backs Stephen Kingsley and Harry Milne injured, Vrancken must consider Miller a genuine option to play there against Benfica on Thursday night. “Don't write it, because he never buys the paper anymore,” joked the manager. “I don't know. It's not the intention to use him as a long-term full-back. I think he has to work for sure on some points when you want to do it there. It was necessary now. We had to find a solution. We wanted also a lot of offensive impulses from the full-backs. He gave it all and it was nice. But it's not only him, of course. I think Blair Spittal also played a great game today, just to name one. But it was a team performance today.” Milne is doubtful for the midweek European tie. “We don't know. I don't know yet. We will not take a risk, of course, with him. So we will have to manage those things. It's not a big issue. I think it was his dead leg from the game before against Sturm Graz. It was still a little bit there. It's a minor injury. But still, we don't want to take risks, especially with muscles. It was a little bit of managing and seeing who was really fit to play today. It was also good that we could leave Laurent [Mendy] and Sabri [Guendouz] on the bench. They felt something, not too big. “But when somebody is a little bit down, because he had to go off half-time at Benfica, it's good that we could keep him on the bench and give him this extra rest. When you see them play now, you see how it works. I’m also happy for Josh, how he plays now. It was nice to see that you can count on everybody.” United manager Jim Goodwin was disappointed at how his team fared at Tynecastle. He also admitted Renaud’s talent was no surprise to him because he was close to signing him before Hearts stepped in. “It's a wonder goal from Renaud from 40 yards and that can happen during the season. He's a player we know well,” said Goodwin. “I spoke to him in the summer and we tried to bring him to Dundee United. So, we knew the ability that the player has got from that type of situation. I'm led to believe we were in first, yes. Obviously, he's a good player and his data would have no doubt flagged up on a number of teams' radars. Hearts beat us to it.” Hearts are preparing to sell Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis to a Turkish side for £1.7m, with McPake having staked his claim for the position. “We accepted a bid for Alex. I think it's a good deal for him, for sure, but also for the club,” said Vrancken. “When he comes in for nothing and goes with a good bit. It's also a transfer window. When the transfer window is open, it's part of football. But people showed today that they are ready to fill up this gap. “Everybody has to feel to take their chance. Everybody has to be ready to take their chances. I think both wingers did well today. We still have Sabri there, he also can play there. And Cal, who is playing full-back, of course. They showed that they are ready, so I’m happy to see that.”