Neil Critchley began his Hearts management career with a rousing victory this afternoon.
The Jambos smashed St Mirren in their first win of the season and it was goals from four different scorers to add some gloss on what was an excellent performance.
The manager has not been in the job too long but still seemed to already have managed to put across some key ideas he wants his squad of players to implement moving forward.
Kenneth Vargas opened the scoring early on before goals from Daniel Oyegoke, James Wilson and Blair Spittal wrapped up the points and sent Stephen Robinson’s Buddies down the motorway with nothing.
In the lead-up to Critchley’s bow in the Tynecastle dugout, the talk seemed to be about how underwhelmed the fans and even some pundits felt about his appointment.
But after the 4-0 romp, it’s likely he has already turned some opinions around.
The former Blackpool boss was delighted with his side for their input all afternoon and admitted to BBC Sportsound that he’d been dreaming of a start like the one he got.
And while he did nit-pick one issue, the 45-year-old was chuffed with his stars.
“When you go to sleep last night you dream of a few goals and a clean sheet. I’m made up for the players, they’ve been really receptive to me and the work we’ve done,” he said.
Hearts beat St Mirren 4-0 in Critchley’s first match in charge
“I think getting the first goal was massive and I’m delighted for the fans going home to have seen a few goals and clean sheet, making them happy again.
“How we started the game was important and I thought we started well. Got control of the game and were threatening. But we’ve come from behind in games this season and responded.
“It’s more about our attitude and mentality for the whole game. We could’ve done better in the second half, they probably got too many balls on top of us but that would be a bit nit-picking maybe.”
Asked what he had learned from his players in the opening week, Critchley insisted the core group was a solid one.
It was Hearts’ first victory of the season in the Scottish Premiership
And he feels his side can create ‘something special’ if they can build a good foundation and win some matches.
“I learned that we’ve got a good group of people in the dressing room, good character and ability on the pitch. When you see them score the first goal and lift it gave them, then it showed playing with a bit more freedom.
“If we can keep winning games we can build something special because it’s a fantastic place to play football.”