About

In addition to the Heart of Midlothian F.C. first team competing in the Scottish Premiership, the club also maintains a side in the Lowland Football League and various youth teams in their Academy setup. Hearts Reserves are the reserve team of Heart of Midlothian. Hearts were members of the Scottish Premier Reserve League from its foundation in the 1998–99 season. The league started as an U21 League but reverted to an open age group league in season 2004–05. The Reserve League was abandoned for season 2009–10 due to financial constraints and a lack of support from other clubs. Hearts Reserves formerly played their home games at Forthbank Stadium (the home of Stirling Albion). The team mainly consisted of Under-19 players and those on the fringe of the first team squad. Some of the first team also played when recovering from injury. The Reserves' head coach in that was Gary Locke. In July 2018, it was reported that reserve leagues would be reintroduced in lieu of the development leagues that had been in place since 2009. The top tier of the new SPFL Reserve League featured 18 clubs, whilst a second-tier reserve League comprised nine clubs. Other than a minimum age of 16, no age restrictions applied to the leagues. At the end of its first season (2018–19) several clubs intimated that they would withdraw from the Reserve League to play a variety of challenge matches, but Hearts were one of those who chose to remain.