Neil Critchley’s vow on Hearts’ Brechin banana skin, Zander Clark, Elton Kabangu and Calem Nieuwenhof
Glebe Park, its famous hedge and the humble town of Brechin will be new surroundings for Hearts coach Neil Critchley on Friday night. The Scottish Cup is a fresh competition for the Englishman, who is familiar with its equivalent south of the border, the FA Cup. He did research and homework on Brechin City and is confident he knows what to expect from this fourth-round tie.
It is a game he cannot afford to lose as manager of a Premiership team visiting Highland League opponents. The fifth tier of Scotland’s football pyramid embarrassed Hearts in 2021 when, as a Championship side, they lost to tiny Brora Rangers in this competition. Critchley believes experiences in England managing Blackpool and coaching youth sides at Liverpool and Crewe Alexandra will stand him in good stead.
“At Blackpool, we played against non-league teams. We played at Eastbourne Borough on astroturf,” he recalled. “There were Youth Cup days as well at Liverpool and even back to my Crewe days. We had some teams that were lower down. The expectation there is to win. It’s a different feeling. It’s a different type of game. You have to handle that psychological difference on Friday night. Again, that’s what this competition brings.
“I’ve not actually ever been to Brechin. I’ve seen them play there. I’ve been watching videos and I’ve seen the pitch and stuff like that – the surroundings and the infamous hedge. I’ve seen that. I’m looking forward to going. I like these games. It’s what the cup’s about. Hopefully we’re just on the right end of the scoreline.
“I don’t judge the game any differently than if we were playing Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, whoever. It’s just the next game, so we always pick the team that we think gives us the best chance of winning the game. We look at the last game. We played well. What did we do well? We’re going into this game.
“Do we need to change the shape? Do we need to slightly adjust personnel? Therefore, that means it might be better playing him rather than him. Then we speak and we have an open conversation. At the end of the day, I pick the team and hopefully we pick the right team.”
One decision he must make is in goal after second-choice keeper Zander Clark signed an extended Hearts contract. He has not appeared competitively since August and has yet to play under Critchley, with Craig Gordon the established first-choice. “It’s not easy [to change goalkeeper] because obviously there’s not 10 outfield players,” remarked the manager.
“You’re fighting for one position and Craig has been fantastic since I’ve been here. His performances have been outstanding. I get to judge Zander on a daily basis in training, and I say that to the players all the time. You get a chance to audition every day. Training is really important. How are we training? Zander trains fantastically well, 100 per cent every day. He stays out afterwards. He helps out with all the extras. He has no ego. He’s a great guy.
“I’ve seen some of his performances from last season as well. He was in the Scotland squad and doing brilliantly well, so I’m fully aware of the capabilities of Zander and the qualities he possesses at this moment in time. He’s also behind Scotland’s No.1, and Craig’s been fantastic, so I’m in a fortunate position.”
“I say to the players, sometimes they can make those decisions more difficult by how they train. The ones who are out of the team have got to train really well and give me an issue, give me a problem. If they get an opportunity to come off the bench or start a game, then give me a problem in terms of picking the team. If you look at the team, it’s been quite consistent, but there have been some changes from game to game. That’s sometimes tactical and that’s sometimes physical reasons. The Brechin game is no different.”
Recent signing Elton Kabangu is in contention to play from the start after an impressive debut as a substitute against Aberdeen on Sunday. “I thought he came on and made an impact, yes,” agreed Critchley. “Obviously, he nearly scored with a header. He actually nearly scored when, I think it was the rebound from the corner when we might have hit the post. He swivelled and hit one and it might have been handball. James [Wilson] nearly put the rebound in.
“There was another one that came across the box and he collected it inside the six-yard box. Obviously, it just didn’t quite fall for him. He showed the threat that he could be in a short period of time. We’ve just got to get that balance right. Elton wasn’t coming here off a lot of match minutes and game exposure, so we’ve got to try and just ease him in but make sure he’s getting some exposure to make sure he can impact our team going forward.”
After missing ten months due to a hamstring injury, Australian midfielder Calem Nieuwenhof appears to have a chance of playing. Critchley emphasized that it will take him some time to return to his prior level of performance. He remarked, “Calem is getting closer and closer.” We’ve been bringing him up to speed in training for the past six weeks, I’d say. Compared to the players who have been training and playing, he is putting in more physical effort. Day by day, or week by week, he’s getting better, I must say.
“For him, joining the team and playing more minutes on the field is the next step. I am aware that he received a lot of positive feedback regarding his trip, growth, and development throughout the previous season. Given how long he’s been gone, I believe Calem will most likely need to embark on that kind of adventure once more. It just depends on how we handle him over the coming weeks and months.
Players are aware of the worth of the ultimate prize when they enter a cup competition. The trophy itself is five matches away from the fourth round. Critchley verified this week at Riccarton which members of his team had won significant awards. While Clark and new recruit Jamie McCart won both national cups with St Johnstone in 2021, Craig Gordon has more medals than he could ever have. There aren’t many more.
Critchley grinned and said, “I didn’t really ask them to raise their hands because I thought there might not be many.” It’s clear that Zander isn’t afraid to raise his hand right away. He doesn’t hesitate to share his cup exploits with us. Maybe two more, but I’m positive there’s one. The group is motivated by the fact that there aren’t many. You desire to succeed professionally and to win things.
“I am as ambitious as the rest of us. Nothing would make us happier than to visit Hampden and retrieve a piece of silverware. But I can assure you that we are aware of what we will encounter on Friday night. We must give it our all because we know the game will be difficult.
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