Neil Critchley insists Hearts can’t afford to hang about in the January transfer market – because they’re still MILES away from where he expects them to be.
The Tynecastle club have brought in Jamie McCart and Elton Kabangu already this month and are closing in on a deal for IFK Varnamo defender Michael Steinwender. Goalkeeper Zander Clark was tied down on a new two-year deal yesterday while Critchley is also keen to strengthen the forward areas with Kazakhstan wide man Islam Chesnokov on the radar.
Hearts have made good use of their new link-up with the Jamestown Analytics tool to identify targets and the manager knows he will be judged on his recruitment. And he knows he can’t afford to waste time with just two weeks left of the window.
Critchley said: “Every window, every chance you get to try and strengthen the squad and improve the squad is vitally important. You can’t waste that time. You can’t miss out on a window. You’ve got to keep moving forward. You’ve got to get it right.
“Are you going to get every signing right? No. In the history of football, with every single manager at every club, if you look at signings, you’re not going to get everyone right, but you’ve got to get the vast majority right. You’re judged by the players that you bring in and ultimately they’re the ones on the pitch that are going to win you games of football.
“We want to try and bring players here that suit the way that we want to play. That have the personality of the players that are identifiable to the supporters on the pitch. Hearts players, I call it. Do they have Hearts character? That’s really important. So far, I think we’ve done that and hopefully we’ve still got the opportunity to improve our squad further.”
Hearts have come out of a hectic festive period which has seen them win three, draw two and lose one of their last six games – but still remain second bottom of the Premiership. Critchley admits extra time spent on the training ground is as important as recruitment. He said: “We need to use the time to progress the team on the pitch and the training and the content of training and what we do.
“It’s going to be hugely important because when I watch the team play, we’re miles away from where I want us to be or where I think we will be given time in the future. We’ve got to strive for better consistency in all areas of our game. The last couple of games we’ve been good defensively.
“It’s not easy but in future I want us to be better with the ball, better without the ball, better in set-pieces. It’s all facets of the game. If you look at the top teams, they’re good in build-up, they’re good in the middle of the pitch, they’re good at scoring goals, they’re good at pressing, they’re good at defending the box, they’re good at attacking set-pieces, defending set-pieces, counter-attack, counter-defending.
“We have so much to do, so much to do and we’ve got to become more consistent in every facet of the game. I think we can take steps forward at this football club. I think we can really be successful and achieve something. Even in those times and those games when we haven’t played well, I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I can see something that we can work towards.
“It just strengthens your resolve to get back out there and work harder and make sure it happens. Of course, not winning in Europe was a disappointment, not winning the derby was a big disappointment, but we’ve responded in the right manner and that’s all we can do.
“We’ve shown character, we’ve shown resilience as a group and that will stand us in good stead for the second half of the season.”