Critchley urges Hearts to ‘stand up’ – but how deep are their troubles?

Neil Critchley, head coach of Heart of Midlothian, has asked his players to “stand up as a group” after their 2-2 draw at home to Moldovan minnows Petrocub in the Conference League. However, the team’s current struggles remain unclear.

“They have serious problems,” former Tynecastle left-back Allan Preston told BBC Sportsound.

“They could be relegated this season.” It’s simply not good enough. “The fans deserve much better.”

After 17 games, Hearts remain at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership, where they were when Critchley took control in October.

In the 14 games since the 46-year-old’s arrival, he has won only four, with the draw against the Moldovan champions, who finished last in the 36-team Conference League with only two points, marking a new low in a disastrous season.

With a demanding Christmas calendar quickly coming, Hearts must try to climb out of the bottom tier of Scotland’s top division, but there are reports that fans are already losing patience.

“Can Critchley motivate the players?” “That’s what the fans want,” Preston suggested. “He needs to be given time and a window or two, but it’s a results-driven business.”

Away from a disastrous start to the league season, which was exacerbated by an abysmal defeat away to 10-man Kilmarnock on Sunday, Hearts had the opportunity to make European history against a team who had already been eliminated from the tournament.

A win would have guaranteed passage to the Conference League knockout round, but another worrying performance ended in a 2-2 draw against a squad that has only won one game away from home in Europe.

The mood at Tynecastle was on the verge of becoming poisonous when Critchley’s team went into the interval down by a goal.

“A result like this, fans will switch off to Critchley, he’ll be done,” Preston stated at halftime.

“There will be no coming back. It appears that the players are not up for this. “The performance has been absolutely rubbish.”

Hearts temporarily recovered, courtesy to goals from 17-year-old James Wilson and Blair Spittal, but a late Petrocub penalty prevented them from being the first Scottish team outside of the Old Firm to reach the knockout round of a European competition since 2008.

“We didn’t do enough” and “we can’t blame anyone else” was Critchley’s post-match assessment, which was shared by captain Lawrence Shankland.

“We’ve only got ourselves to blame,” the Scotland striker told TNT Sports. “The lads shown good character at times because things became heated out there.

“But from that [winning] position, we should actually win the game. I didn’t believe the lads didn’t try or work hard; there was simply a lack of quality.

“It’s not been there all season – it’s been disappointing.”

After a dismal departure, Europe is no longer a distraction for Hearts, who must now focus on avoiding relegation.

Three of their next four games will be played at Tynecastle, beginning with St Johnstone on Saturday and culminating with an Edinburgh derby against Hibernian on Boxing Day, but Preston predicts a difficult ride unless things improve quickly.

“It hasn’t been good enough this season,” he claimed. “Some of the Hearts players appear to have lost their legs. They do not meet the needed standard.

“That opening 45-minute performance will get them relegated.”

Have your say about Hearts’ sorrows

So, where do Hearts go from here? Thursday’s disappointment marked a new low in a terrible campaign.

Do you believe Critchley can turn things around in the future games? If that’s the case, what has to happen for him to do this?

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