Hearts have confirmed two new members of their coaching staff to join Wouter Vrancken at Tynecastle.
The Jambos hired Belgian Vrancken last week to replace Derek McInnes who switched to Ibrox to join Rangers. And the 47-year-old head coach has moved quickly to bring in his own staff.
Vrancken will be joined in Gorgie by Tim Smolders and Cederique Tulleners, who will form the management team alongside Gordon Marshall as the goalkeeping coach.
It comes after set-piece specialist at the club, Ross Grant, moved to Celtic this week.
Smolders has a strong background with plenty of experience in coaching having worked with Club Brugge, Union Saint-Gilloise and the Belgian under-19s setup.
🆕 Heart of Midlothian is pleased to announce additions to Wouter Vrancken's coaching team, with Tim Smolders and Céderique Tulleners joining as assistant coaches.
— Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) June 29, 2026
Tulleners, meanwhile, has worked in a coaching capacity across several different countries including Saudi Arabia and in China while he was most recently head coach of Jong Cercle Brugge in his homeland.
Hearts' statement confirming the changes read: "Heart of Midlothian is pleased to confirm the arrivals of Tim Smolders and Céderique Tulleners as assistant coaches to Wouter Vrancken, subject to visa approval.
"A fellow Belgian, 45-year-old Smolders featured for the likes of Club Brugge, Gent and Cercle Brugge in his playing days, before starting his coaching journey as assistant manager with the latter.
"Smolders would go on to spend time with the Belgian U19s, Club Brugge and Union Saint-Gilloise in a coaching capacity, before making the move to Germany to take up the role as assistant manager at FC Schalke, reuniting with Karel Geraerts in the process.
"The duo moved to France last summer, joining Stade Reims where they narrowly missed out on the playoffs and a shot at promotion to Ligue 1.
"Tulleners meanwhile joins the Jambos having most recently been in charge of Jong Cercle Brugge in Belgium, having previously spent time with the Lithuania U19s and U21s. The 35-year-old has also coached in China and Saudi Arabia and now makes the move to Edinburgh as Vrancken finalises his backroom staff ahead of the new campaign.
"The trio will get straight down to work as the Jambos head to Spain this week for seven days of warm-weather training, ahead of the pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano at Tynecastle Park and Champions League Qualifier against Sturm Graz."
