Hearts handed major European warning by former star after Ross County win
A former Hearts star has assessed the current status of his old club after Saturday's win against Ross County.
Hearts have been warned they have ‘a lot of work to do’ to genuinely challenge at the top end of the Premiership table on a regular basis.
After a challenging start to the season, Neil Critchley’s side are now in the hunt for a European place for the second consecutive season after embarking on a rich vein of form in recent months. A goal in each half from Elton Kabangu and Jorge Grant helped Hearts to a 2-0 win against Ross County that means they have now taken maximum points in seven of their last ten league games and remain within striking distance of the top four.
A challenging trio of fixtures is lying await ahead of the split as Critchley’s men prepare to visit Celtic and Motherwell either side of a Tynecastle clash with a Dundee United side that also have their eyes on a place in continental competition next season. Whether Hearts are successful in claiming yet another season in Europe remains to be seen - but there appear to be some solid foundations being put in place for the future as Critchley continues to make an impact in the dugout.
However, former Hearts midfielder Michael Stewart is unsure if the style of play and system being utilised by Critchley will become a long-term part of his Tynecastle reign.
He told the Scottish Football Social Club: “Hearts were never in any danger in this game. It wasn’t a game when you felt they were ever going to be losing it. Sitting at one-nil for such a long period, they hadn’t created too much up to that point and they were a wee bit slow and pedestrian in their play. Ross County just didn’t pose a threat defensively. I thought they were pretty good at stifling Hearts but there were plenty of positives for Hearts because they won the game two-nil but the bigger picture when you look at where are Hearts and how are they moving forward, it still feels like they’re in a bit of a holding pattern.
“Even the way they played, the system, is that a system that will be moving into next season? The way that they play, I don’t think it is. So everything feels like it’s just a little bit getting by at the moment. Are they going to challenge for third place? They’re in the hunt but it’s a bit of a long shot, I think a wee bit of a long shot. They’ve got tough games and it was hugely important to get the three points to get them into sixth spot but they have tough games coming up and the top six isn’t a guarantee because it’s still so tight. Hopefully they’re in there challenging for European spots but there are still a lot of work to do to get Hearts to where they feel they should be.”
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