Hearts have contacted the five players that were made redundant last summer as the club's new board continues its efforts to clear the footballing debt they inherited from the previous regime.

Erstwhile club captain Marius Zaliukas, striker John Sutton, winger Andrew Driver and youngsters Mark Keegan and Marcus McMillan were all let go as Hearts entered administration.

Each of those players were either still under contract and us such were entitled to be paid off or they were still owed wages. The debt - which is understood to be £535,000 - is being attended to by Ann Budge, who completed her takeover of the Tynecastle club last month.

The situation requires to be settled as part of the deal which allowed Hearts to continue under Budge. The players concerned have now been invited by the club to make their case for recompense.

That maintains a sense of progress at Tynecastle. Hearts have been rebuilding the summer, with Moroccan midfielder Soufian El Hassnaoui one of the new players to arrive. He has acknowledged that one figure from Hearts' past played a significant role in convincing him to move to Scotland, though.

"I know Mark de Vries having played against him in Holland and he spoke highly of the club," he said of the former Hearts striker.