Scottish Cup semi-final: Heart of Midlothian v Aberdeen
Where: Hampden Park, Glasgow When: Saturday, 19 April Kick-off: 12:30 BST
Coverage: Watch on BBC One Scotland, BBC Sport website & app
Heart of Midlothian fans are right to be angry at the failure to secure a top-six place, says head coach Neil Critchley, but he insists progress has been made since he joined the club in October.
The Tynecastle side took four points from five matches before the split, with last weekend’s goalless draw in Motherwell consigning them to the bottom half of the Scottish Premiership.
“It’s always a collective,” Critchley said. “I’d rather fans point at me than the players. After any game where you don’t get the result that you want then there’s going to be disappointment, frustration.
“That’s totally understandable. I’d never criticise the supporters for that because we all feel that. Myself, the players are included.
“But I have to keep a sense of perspective on things. I have to be balanced and rational in my thinking and believe in what we’re doing. And I’ve seen signs of progress.
“I’ve seen a team that’s honest and hard-working and is willing to fight on the pitch. And sometimes it’s just fine margins. That little bit of luck that can change the course of a game or your future.”
With a Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen to come on Saturday, Critchley is stressing the need to “quickly move on”.
Hearts are yet to beat the Dons in the league this season, two draws following a 3-2 defeat at Pittodrie in October.
“You have to overcome disappointment,” Critchley said. “We have to keep looking forward.”
Former Blackpool boss Critchley paid his first visit to Hampden a few weeks ago to familiarise himself with the national stadium, which will house more than 22,000 Hearts fans on Saturday.
“It was obviously empty on the day, just to get a feel for it,” he explained. “It’s an iconic stadium.
“You visualise what it might be like. I know we’ve got an incredible support going. Hopefully we can do them proud and give them a performance and a win that they deserve.”
Critchley’s record since taking over from Steven Naismith is 14 wins, seven draws and 12 defeats.
Although he has steered the club away from the foot of the table, there has been criticism of a poor record against teams in the top half, along with the failure to win at home to Petrocub from Moldova, which scuppered progression in the Conference League.
“I understand some games are bigger than others,” he said. “But, when we first came in, I’d say every game was important.
“We were playing catch-up and we had to win games straight away and we’ve done that.
“There’s evidence to suggest that we’ve deserved more. We’ve missed big chances. That’s been a recurring theme.
“In lots of those games we’ve been chasing rather than leading the game. I think that’s weighed on us a little bit and that’s something for us to work on.”
Critchley began his coaching career at youth level with Liverpool and says a winning mentality takes years to develop, but he accepts managers are under pressure to make an immediate impact.
“People see the end product now, [at Liverpool] but that took a while to get to,” he added. “Players in and out, then it all comes together. In this industry, you don’t get a lot of time.
“It’s a rare commodity and people always want success yesterday. You have to understand the process of what you’re going to go through.
“There might be some dips in different moments on the way. You have to ride that and come through that. You have to show belief in who you are and what you want to be.”
