Neil Critchley admitted a winning start and a four goal demolition of St Mirren on his Hearts managerial debut was what dreams are made of.
The Englishman insists his Tynecastle bow was almost as perfect as he imagined when he went to bed on Friday night ahead of first game in the home dugout. Kenneth Vargas, Daniel Oyegoke James Wilson and Blair Spittal strikes pulled the Tynecastle side off the foot of the table with a first Premiership win of the season.
The romp allowed Critchley to enjoy a stunning first game in charge after being appointed earlier this week and he revealed the result can be a launchpad for the rest of the season. He said: “Could I have dreamt of a better start? Probably not, no. When you go to bed last night, go to sleep, you dream of a start like this, scoring a few goals and keeping a clean sheet.
“I’m delighted for the players, they’ve been fantastic this week, so receptive to the work that we’ve done. I think there were signs of that on the pitch and to keep a clean sheet, I think that’s really important as well. I loved it. I was fantastic but I understand that I’m going to have to prove myself to the supporters here. I totally get that, but I’m confident I will. And they’ll learn over time, hopefully, that they believe in who I am as a person and what I can bring to this football club.
The Gorgie side were a team transformed after pulling in only two points from a possible 24 under previous boss Steven Naismith and Critchley is adamant his new group of players must take the greater share of the credit. He said: “The way that the players have, in a short period of time, taken our ideas onto the pitch.
“I thought we started the game really well, with good energy, kept the ball well, passed the ball well, got into good areas of the pitch. We were threatening and the first goal was massive, we haven’t scored the first goal this season.
“It was a terrific first goal, Kenny scored in the week, came back in good spirits and he’s backed it up again today. I think in the second half, when we went 2-0 up, we could have controlled the game better and had more of the ball. I’d rather see us being dominant when we’re winning.
“The best form of defence is attack, keeping the ball and pushing them back. I think we allowed them to start raining balls on top of us a little bit, even though I don’t think Craig’s had a save to make during the whole game really.
“I didn’t feel under any undue pressure, but you know, sometimes just percentages of balls coming forward, it could land for them at one moment in time. Fortunately, it didn’t. We got a couple of goals near the end and that was a nice feeling.”
Hearts will now prepare to welcome Cypriot out Omonoia for a Europa Conference League group stage clash in Edinburgh on Friday night and Critchley can’t wait for that challenge after a win over Saints which provided a much needed shot in the arm. He said: it’s a real confidence boost, you can see that to the players.
“There’s an element of relief, I think. It’s good to get that first win under our belts, and it was an important day today. You don’t want that run to continue and keep going. But, look, we’re in for training tomorrow morning, and we’ve got a really brilliant game to look forward to now on Thursday night.”