Hearts chief believes new boss Neil Critchley has the ability to improve players

Hearts chose Neil Critchley to become their new head coach due to his ability to improve players, according to chief executive Andrew McKinlay.

The Edinburgh club – bottom of the William Hill Premiership – are in the process of striking a deal with Brighton owner Tony Bloom, which will allow them access to his data-led player recruitment system.

Hearts were able to use the analytics software to “guide” them in their search for a replacement for Steven Naismith, who was sacked last month, with the main focus on unearthing a new boss with an ability to get the best out of players.

Despite mixed fortunes in his two spells as Blackpool manager either side of an ill-fated 12-game stint at QPR, new Jambos sporting director Graeme Jones described 45-year-old Critchley as “the outstanding candidate based on the analytics” after he was appointed on a two-and-a-half-year deal on Tuesday.

“The main thing the analytics does is it looks at managers that have improved the players they’ve worked with,” said McKinlay when asked about the specific attributes Hearts were looking for that helped bring Critchley to the fore.

“That’s its main focus, that they have a track record of where they’ve worked with players and have improved them. The great thing about that is it doesn’t purely look at only people that have won.

“People might win something or might do something because they’ve got better players, for example, or they might have a better environment to work in.

“The analytics very much, and that’s what we want, look for someone that will improve players. I have no doubt Neil will absolutely bring the best out in our players.

“I’m confident we have a good squad of players, but they need the right person to direct them and I think Neil will be that person.”

McKinlay insisted Hearts did their due diligence on former Liverpool academy coach Critchley, who was also Steven Gerrard’s assistant at Aston Villa, beyond simply following the analytics.

“We spoke to other people,” he said. “We have spoken to certain players who have worked with Neil before and they have, without fail, been 100 per cent about how they enjoyed working with Neil and how good he is at getting the best out of players.

“Neil’s worked at Liverpool, he’s worked with people like Jurgen Klopp, he’s worked with some really, really impressive people. I can’t imagine these are people that suffer fools gladly so I think we are lucky that we have Neil here.”

Critchley’s appointment has received a lukewarm response from some supporters in light of the fact he has been sacked twice in the last 20 months – by QPR in February 2023 and Blackpool in August.

“You talk about this negativity, I’m actually quite encouraged by quite a lot of what I’ve been hearing and Reading today since we made the announcement,” said McKinlay.

“I know our fans will get behind Neil and will wish him all the best. We all want to come together as one and I’m very, very positive. The fans, I think, will be too.”

Much of the negativity around Critchley’s appointment stems from the perception that his second spell at Blackpool, where he returned in May 2023 after previously winning promotion to the Sky Bet Championship in 2021, did not go well.

“I have a different opinion on that because obviously the first spell, we got promoted in our first season and then sustained our Championship status in the second,” said Critchley.

“Then when I came back to the club it was after a relegation and there had been a lot of change at the club. I think there were 17 players left last summer and we built a new squad.

“From changing a team that was losing and having the mindset of losing to a team that was then expected to win, to get to 73 points and only miss out on the play-offs on the last day of the season, to get to the semi-final of the EFL Trophy and to take Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round to a replay and extra time, I didn’t see it as a negative at all. I thought it was positive.”