Lee Wallace today admitted that, "it's good to be back" as he set out high aims for the season ahead.

The defender - one of Hearts highly rated players - spoke confidently after a first morning of training at Riccarton.

And he confirmed he's entirely focused on the season ahead, despite speculation suggesting he might have a future in England.

"It's good to be back," he told the media. "Getting a long rest is important for a footballer but in the end you get bored with the holidays so we are happy to be back.

"Personally we have to set high standards and I have said that number of times.

"The position last year was not acceptable for a club of Hearts' stature. We should definitely be aiming for the top three.

"Not just me but I think everyone in that dressing room wants that and we'd set that as our standards. There's no reason we should not make that.

"A top three finish, get in Europe and do well in the Cups is a standard we are all going to set.

Lee is sure that Hearts have already started the pre-season in stronger fashion, with a good pre-season plan in place and a couple of vital additions to the pool of players.

"We will get a great pre-season under our belt and we will be a lot fitter than last year so that's a positive compared to last year," he noted.

"We've got a number of friendlies lines up and we've got Darren Barr and Kevin Kyle in so that's strengthened us and we've got off to a better start than last year."

On Hearts.TV today - Catch JJ and Lee Wallace at today's pre-season return news conference plus Jim's exclusive one-to-one interview