An intriguing afternoon lies in store in Gorgie on Saturday.
Neil Critchley’s arrival as Hearts manager has had plenty of attention and lots has been said, good or bad. But the latter can all be stopped if the 45-year-old gets off to a flying start and starts to get points on the board.
His first fixture is one that can strike fear into a Jambos boss – St Mirren. The Buddies proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the previous three managers – Daniel Stendel, Robbie Neilson and Steven Naismith – who were all sacked after defeats to the Paisley men.
But a Tynecastle tie against a side who haven’t performing all that well themselves presents a good opportunity for three points and the perfect start, if he can get a tune out of the team.
It’s almost impossible to try and second guess a manager new to Scottish football and who doesn’t favour a particular formation.
But we’ve tried anyway, so here is Not the Old Firm’s predicted Hearts XI to face Saints.
Hearts predicted XI vs St Mirren
Craig Gordon
The veteran goalkeeper worked his way back into the Hearts side this season and while Zander Clark is a worthy candidate, the 41-year-old showed his quality during Scotland’s draw with Portugal.
Daniel Oyegoke
Critchley will likely know about Oyegoke from his loan spells in the English lower leagues. Youngster Adam Forrester has had some games but Oyegoke played well against Aberdeen, a match which the new boss has watched.
Frankie Kent
The outstanding defender in this Hearts squad and one of their best players. A real leader and one of the best centre-backs in the Premiership this season despite his team’s struggles.
Kye Rowles
Blows hot and cold but this is the centre-back partnership that has most often been used this season.
James Penrice
A slight positive from this season has been the form of the new left-back signing from Livingston with Colombia international Andres Salazar struggling to break in.
Beni Baningime
Arguably the most important player in the team at times and after being rested against Aberdeen, should be fit to come back in.
Malachi Boateng
Can help Hearts get control of the game alongside Baningime in the centre of the park.
Blair Spittal
Came onto a bit of form under Liam Fox and scored a good goal against the Dons – always a threat.
Kenneth Vargas
Played well at Pittodrie but missed an absolute sitter – can Critchley help get the best out of him?
Yan Dhanda
The new manager knows the playmaker well having worked with him at Liverpool and Dhanda had just broken into the side on the left hand side anyway.
Lawrence Shankland
Hasn’t been his season so far but you just know he can go on a run at any point. Still has to play despite his struggles.