Hearts are reportedly happy with Oriam after Scotland coach John Carver raised concerns about the facilities.
The national team is training at Lesser Hampden this week in preparation for Euro 2024 qualifying fixtures against Cyprus and Spain. Steve Clarke's men usually train at Oriam on the outskirts of Edinburgh before international, however changed venues for a number of reasons it has been revealed. Hotel capacity and safety concerns with the playing facilities have now emerged but Hearts are believed to be satisfied with Oriam, according to the Edinburgh Evening News.
Oriam is Scotland's national performance centre for sport, based at Heriot-Watt University's Riccarton campus in Edinburgh, and has been the base for the squad since 2016. Lesser Hampden, next door to the national stadium, is currently being upgraded by Queen's Park and is hosting Andy Robertson and his teammates this week. Speaking at a press conference today, Carver said: "We had to move from Oriam because we couldn't get any accommodation in the hotel there but also, when you have someone like Willie Haughey (Queen's Park backer), who wants to help the national team, him and his staff have been incredible."
He added: "With all due respect to Oriam, the surface was a safety hazard in my eyes. The pitch looked good on the eye. You guys were there quite often and you only saw us working in small areas. For some reason the surface would give way. For the guys who were training on it, for me, it was a safety hazard, a health risk.
"I am surprised we didn't get any serious injuries from it, especially at the pace and tempo these guys were playing at and are playing at now. It was a huge concern. Nearly every one of them (raised concerns) and we had to curtail training at times."
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