Michael Stewart has identified what trait Hearts need to target in the January transfer window.
The Jambos were praised for their recruitment in the summer with Steven Naismith getting to work early by taking advantage of signing players on pre-contracts.
Yan Dhanda, Blair Spittal and James Penrice were secured on free deals and alongside the rest of the incoming deals, it looked like Hearts were primed for another strong campaign.
But Naismith was unable to get the best out of his squad and Hearts failed to win any of their first eight Premiership fixtures.
As a result, he was sacked and Neil Critchley brought in as his successor. And Stewart has largely been impressed with how Critchley has gone about his work so far.
Michael Stewart on Hearts needing pace
He now has two wins from four in the league, the last being on Saturday against St Johnstone. But Stewart thinks in order for Critchley to take Hearts one step further this season, he’ll need to target pace in the January window.
“What I was going to say about Hearts is credit to Neil Critchley. He’s not trying to reinvent the wheel here, it’s a common sense approach here. And look, it’s working so credit to him.
“I still think – and I’ve harped on about this so much and I’d love to see it in January, just to find a bit of pace. Inject a bit of pace into that team and then I think they could really start to motor up the table.
Added speed could help Hearts in Europe
Host of the show Darrell Currie suggested that with more speed in the squad, it would only help Hearts in their Europa Conference League endeavours this season.
The Jambos play Heidenheim next in Europe with kick-off on Thursday night at Tynecastle. Hearts could make it an impressive three wins from three with a victory as Stewart discussed the German challenge that lies ahead.
He said: “Heidenheim are not a massive name in the Bundesliga but the fact they are in Europe shows just how well they performed last season.
“They’re going pretty well now too so it’s going to be a big challenge for them. But they are in such a great position in that Conference League, six points from six.
“They have a wonderful opportunity to get themselves into the next round and the money that comes with the European journey and experience is not to be sniffed at. So hopefully on Thursday, it’s another positive performance and result.”