Let’s be honest, we Hearts fans are lucky that Hibs are in the state that they’re in. Or else we’d be in big, big s****.
That’s the crazy thing that the players need to realise. One of the only things that’s giving them a bit of leeway is the fact that Hibs are below us. Because if they go on a run and we don’t, it will change very quickly. I’m in group chats with boys who are season ticket holders and put money into the club. Every Saturday it’s ‘the gift that keeps on giving is Hibs‘. But that can change very quickly from having a laugh, to ‘this is a major issue.’
You can get detached very quickly, especially if you’re relying heavily on players coming in in January, who find it hard to hit the ground running. And that’s why it’s such a big two or three months for the club.
I’ve been beating the drum on what Hearts need for the last 12 to 18 months. Two new strikers. And I still think we need that. But we also need pace out wide. That would be the four signings I’d be looking for in January; two strikers and two pacey wingers. That could completely change the dynamic.
Look at Musa Drammeh. It was a great finish from him after coming off the bench against Celtic at the weekend, and if that was me, I’d be champing at the bit. I’d be chapping the manager’s door and saying ‘I want to start.’ But his best position is the No.10, where he needs players running off him. I don’t think we have that just now. He needs space to work in, and we’re not dynamic enough to give him that. We’re very one-paced.
I like the new manager. We’re obviously doing well in Europe, but to see Hearts and Hibs bottom and second bottom is just unacceptable. We need to find goals from somewhere and start winning games.
Regardless of anything, the players have to take some responsibility. I said last week in my column that Celtic was a bit of a free hit, I wanted a decent performance, and we got that mostly, even if it was typical Hearts, not taking our chances and being punished for it. The Aberdeen game at the weekend weekend is now so, so big for the entire club. They need to find some way to not just get a point, but to start winning.
Firstly though it’s Cercle Brugge on Thursday, and I think it’s worth dropping Lawrence Shankland for that one. He wouldn’t want to hear it, but I wouldn’t play him, for his own benefit as much as anything.
No-one can sing Lawrence’s praises higher than I have over the last 18 months or so. I’ve been there where managers have dropped me and told me ‘it will give you a bit of freshness, it might help you.’ As a player, I would have told the manager to f*** off. You want to play every single game. Lawrence will be the same. But detaching myself from that, I think it would be the best thing.
As far as Kenny Vargas goes, I’ve been there myself where I’ve said something that’s backfired. I agree with what Cammy Devlin said about him: ‘do your talking on the pitch.’ And that ultimately comes down to working hard for the jersey first. Then once you do that, get an assist or score goals – which ultimately leads to the team winning games. Then everything gets forgotten about.
In the times we’re in, football can be made complicated by idiots. When it comes down to it, it’s extremely simple. If you’re a defender, you work hard, you stop goals. If you’re an attacking player, you work hard and you score goals.
Kenny just needs to get his head down and score goals. Hearts fans are amazing in that they don’t really ask for a lot. And they’ll give you so much back. If he just works hard, the Hearts fans will give him leeway. And if he does that, then at some stage, he will start scoring goals.
Europe is deflecting from the domestic results, as are Hibs, who are doing us a big favour. Critchley won’t be stupid enough not to see that. I spoke to Gary Locke at length about this at the Rangers game. He was saying how good the manager was and how straight-talking he was. He’ll see things the same way as the fans, and he’ll be desperate to get to the January window and bring in his own players.
I get the sense it’s going to be the same old story, the same old broken record, until we get to the window, and that’s a worry. We just need to get there and not be detatched. Then, with the right signings, hopefully it can all turn. But it’s a big if, and Hearts fans would be foolish not to think we’re in real danger of going down.