Hearts lay out methods to rediscover a goalscoring spark

Hearts coaches are working on a more aggressive passing style of play in order to recapture an attacking spark for Saturday’s trip to St Johnstone.

Manager Robbie Neilson and his staff want to address a run of only one goal in the last four games. Neilson told the Evening News that possession play remains Hearts’ priority but explained why they must use the ball in a more purposeful manner.

“We chop and change and we have a number of attacking options. It’s about getting them sparking again and getting the right formula for each game,” he said.

“Freshness will bring that. We’ve had a number of games in the last few weeks and that affects everyone. We need to go into games and be aggressive with our passing. Although we are a possession-based team, we are actually very dangerous on the counter-attack.

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 17: Heart's Manager Robbie Neilson during a Hearts press conference at the Oriam, on February 17, 2022, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)

“We want to regain possession and break quickly on teams with the pace we’ve got. In the last couple of games, we have become more possession-based than counter-attacking. You need a balance between the two.

“It’s probably more the initial first pass to break lines. At the start of the season, we would rap the ball through when we won it. I’ve felt in the last couple of games that the pass was there but we maybe chose the sideways or backwards option.

“That allows teams to get back into shape and it’s then more difficult to break them down. We want to get back to that spark of aggression.”

St Johnstone may need to play reserve goalkeeper Elliot Parish against Hearts with first-choice Zander Clark nursing a calf injury. Midfielder Melker Hallberg and striker Callum Hendry also have calf issues, while Chris Kane is out with a knee problem.

Hearts coaching staff want more attacking spark.

The Tynecastle side intend to test the replacement keeper early whilst trying to end a decade-long wait to win at McDiarmid Park. “We will try to. It looks like there might be a change there and possibly a couple of others with Hendry and Kane being out as well,” said Neilson.

“You normally know what you are going to get but we will wait and see what they do with their group.”

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