5 Neil Critchley Hearts presser talking points as new boss addresses fan division

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Neil Critchley met the Scottish press pack for the first time as Hearts manager this afternoon.

The former QPR and Blackpool boss and Liverpool academy coach was confirmed as the new Jambos boss this morning after days of speculation. There has been a mixed reaction with Hearts fans and one former player questioning the decision by the club.

But the 45-year-old came out very near the top when club chiefs ran the data from Tony Bloom’s firm Jamestown Analytics and then also crucially passed the ‘human’ test when talking to CEO Andrew McKinlay and sporting director Graeme Jones at interivew.

First up for the Englishman is St Mirren at home this Saturday and that is followed by a winnable European tie against Cypriots Omonia before a huge match for only his third with the trip across the capital to take on Hibs in and Edinburgh derby.

There are plenty of other priorities for Critchley to get to grips with after taking his first training session today.

For now, here is a look at the main talking points from his press conference.

• READ MORE: 8 Neil Critchley Hearts priorities including transfers and early Hibs test

Andrew McKinlay insists Critchley was Hearts first choice

We told how Critchley was the frontrunner for the Hearts job at the end of last week. But that was only after speculation that the club had landed on Per-Mathias Hogmo as their first pick.

It was claimed a deal was agreed between the two parties before the Norwegian pulled a U-turn and rejected the job. But CEO McKinlay claims that while there were several candidates, Critchley was the only one they entered negotiations with.

He said: “There has been a lot of speculation around that. The reality of any recruitment process is that you run concurrent discussions with agents. Neil was the preferred candidate from an analytics perspective. And also when he spoke with us, it was very clear that he was the right person to work with us and to work with the analytics.

“It would be strange at the start of a strategic partnership if we didn’t go into it fully and wholeheartedly. So that’s where we got to with Neil. We didn’t negotiate with anyone else. I’ve had a lot of names thrown at me over the past week. Neil was the only person we negotiated with.”

Critchley addresses Hearts fan split

Asked about fan division, he responded: “Whoever was sitting here, it was always going to divide opinion. When you have a big supporter base like us, some people will agree, some people will be sitting on the fence and some might think differently. I’ve been given this opportunity and I intend to give everything that I can to make this football club successful.”

McKinlay added: “From my perspective, we’re fan owned and the fans have a privileged position in that they have two positions on our board and are fully involved in the process of appointing Neil. That’s something that’s fairly unique to most clubs.

“You talk about this negativity. I’m actually encouraged by a lot of what I’m hearing today since we made the announcement. I know our fans will get behind Neil, 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.”

What Hearts fans can expect from Critchley’s Hearts

The man himself smiled: “Well, I don’t want to give you too much infortmation because that might give away what we might be doing at the weekend. But I think there’s some cold hard facts that at both ends of the pitch…we’ve conceded practically two a game and we’ve only scored six goals. So it stands to reason if that trend continues then there is only one thing that happens. Quite simply, games are decided at both ends of the pitch and we need to do better at both ends of the pitch.”

Role of analytics in Critchley Hearts appointment

McKinlay said: “Because we are about to enter a really exciting time for the club on the analytics front it would have been ridiculous for us not to use it. What is really important though is that the analytics only guides us. A big thing is then about how myself and Graeme (Jones, incoming sporting director), because Graeme will work closely with Neil, and I’m sure Neil would say the same from his perspective. If Graeme wasn’t someone he was happy to work with, I’m sure he would have said ‘this is not for me’. It was also crucial that anyone was happy to work within a sporting director model. That’s our model and we’re not going to change. So yes the analytics were important, but the fit and the human piece.. in the conversations I’ve been involved in with Neil I am very excited about working with him and I think he is going to be a fantastic addition to the Hearts team.

“The main thing the analytics looks at is that they have improved players…they have a track record of improving players. It doesn’t purely look at people who have won, because people might win things because they’ve got better players or a better environment. We want someone who will improve players and I have no doubt Neil will bring the best out in our players.”

Negative Blackpool and QPR spell accusations

The main crux of the issue for most fans is that their new boss is deemed to have had bad spells at Blackpool (his second stint) and QPR.

But Critchley hit back: “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. When I came back to the club it was after relegation and there had been a lot of change. I think 17 players left in the summer and we built a new squada. I think changing a team that had a mindset of losing to get to 73 points and only just miss out on the play-offs, to get to the semi-final of the EFL trophy, one game away from Wembley, to take Nottingham Forest to a replay and extra-time, I didn’t see it as a negative at all. I thought it was positive.”