Neil Critchley says Euro blockbusters like Thursday’s Tynecastle showdown with Omonia sold him on a move to Hearts.
And he’s urged his Jambos stars to ensure there are plenty more to look forward to this season – by moving a step closer to qualification for the knockout stage. Critchley is only 10 days in the job but is already looking forward to his Europa Conference League debut in the dug out after replacing Steven Naismith at the helm last week.
The former Blackpool and QPR boss cut his teeth in the Liverpool academy and travelled the continent with the Anfield kids in UEFA Youth League duty. But ahead of his first taste of the real thing, the 46-year-old said: “I’ve had experience of that before but that was at youth level. I’ve been very fortunate to travel all over the world playing in competitions. The UEFA Youth League was obviously under-19 level but still it’s all relative.
“I still have experience of playing against teams from all over the world and how they play the game differently, how rules are interpreted differently, even just the way people behave and react to certain things. So it’s not new to me. But managing against a team like Omonoia is one of the definite reasons why I came to this football club, without a shadow of a doubt. You can only take one game at a time. We’ve got three points on the board and we’ve got two home games to come. If we can pick up more points then we’re in a strong position and that’s our aim – to try and go as far as we can in this competition.”
Former Rangers defender Filip Helander could feature for the Cypriots tonight but star signing – former Manchester City and Inter Milan striker Stevan Jovetic – was not signed in time to make their Euro squad. Nevertheless Omomia are packed with internationals.
And Critchley said: “I just know from watching them, they’ve got some good players. I know they’ve got some really exciting attacking players. They like to dominate the ball. If you look at some of the background of some of the players, where they’ve been and what they’ve done and what they’ve achieved, then we give full respect to who they are.