Head coach Neil Critchley watched the on-loan midfielder in midweek

Finlay Pollock’s pace, power and attacking instincts are exactly the commodities Hearts need right now. Head coach Neil Critchley watched the on-loan midfielder score Raith Rovers’ opening goal in Tuesday’s 3-0 win at Hamilton Academical and liked what he saw. However, Pollock then sustained an injury and was forced off after 22 minutes.

Fitness issues have plagued the 20-year-old since he broke into the Hearts first team nearly four years ago. Critchley is aware of the player’s background and his need for a consistent run of games. He currently has 14 Raith appearances to his name and will likely remain at Stark’s Park until the end of the season - playing a slightly different position at times.

Barry Robson is using a 3-5-2 system since being appointed Raith manager a month ago. Pollock is deployed on the left of a three-man central midfield with licence to join the attack frequently. When doing so, he effectively becomes a third forward. The position is tailored to his goalscoring instincts and running power, although it is a little varied from playing wide right or central midfield with Hearts.

Critchley explained what he witnessed at Hamilton and said he hopes Hearts can benefit from Pollock gaining more experience in the Scottish Championship. “It was disappointing, obviously, for Finlay to come off. He scored a really good goal very early in the game, took it really well, playing down the middle,” explained the Critchley. “Then he went down and you think: 'Oh dear, come on.' So he'd been 20 minutes and he had to come off, unfortunately.

“That's the reason he's there, to play games. He's had a change of manager and he has to find his way into a team, maybe a change of system under Barry at the moment. That's part and parcel of going out on loan and finding what a new manager wants. Do you fit in? How do I get into this team? Getting through injury, carrying on, playing. He's learning all of that and hopefully we'll see the benefits of that in the future.”

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Critchley is preparing Hearts to face Dundee this afternoon before dealing with the final hours of the January transfer window. He has signed four players to date - Elton Kabangu, Jamie McCart, Michael Steinwender and Sander Kartum - but there is “nothing imminent” regarding a fifth new arrival before Monday’s 11pm deadline.

Critchley said there have been no issues selling Hearts to prospective new players. “No, not at all. This club should be, in my opinion, an easy sell. It's a fantastic football club, a big football club, big expectations, wants to be successful,” he remarked. “You've got to look at the facilities, the supporter base, the ground. When I've spoken to players, they've always been excited and you can see them wanting to come to this football club.

“It's a fantastic city, it's brilliant. It's not been difficult at all. It's been the opposite and, in my opinion, so it should. We don’t need to sell this football club, we don't need to do that, but speak passionately about Hearts and what we can do for people's careers and how we can help them. This club is an easy sell. It’s not a sell, it's just speaking about who we are and what we do. So far, we've had the benefits of it in this window.”

Presentations demonstrating Hearts’ history, culture and traditions are part of the process during contract talks with prospective signings. “Yes, it is. Obviously, with myself and Graeme [Jones, sporting director] coming in, that's slightly different because we've not had that period of time to do everything just yet. Going into the window, it's important that the players know certain parts of the club, the history, the tradition of this football club. However, also, I think it's important that you speak from the heart. It's not just about a PowerPoint presentation, it's about people.

“That's where I think I've got to be able to sit in front of people, with Graeme, with Andrew [McKinlay, chief executive], whoever that is and look people in the eye. You've got to have that connection, you've got to have that feeling that these players are going to be the right players, the right type of person that is going to come to this football club and be successful.

“There's a demand on the players here, there's an expectation of having to perform and win. You have to be a certain character. When I'm watching players, I always describe it as: Are they a Hearts player? Can they come to Tynecastle and can they perform when it matters? It’s vitally important we get that right.”

The art of watching a player in the flesh may be used less in modern football with the influence of technology. Hearts relationship with football data firm Jamestown Analytics is well-publicised, but Critchley still enjoys traditional scouting methods.

“I've not been able to go to all the games and watch them. A lot of the recruitment now is further afield,” he acknowledged. “I like to go out and watch games. I like watching football. I was at Hamilton-Raith on Tuesday night. When I get a chance, I go out and watch. I like watching players. You always see something or see someone: 'Oh, I like him and I didn't know about him.' That's the job.

“You have a passion for the job and that's what I do. That's not always feasible now because I can't just disappear for a few days and go and watch players because we've had such a busy schedule in games. And also my job, there's an obligation here to train and coach the players that are here, but that's why you have a recruitment team. That's why you have people around you. Technology enables you to do certain parts of the job that years ago would have been different.”