Hearts' progress analysed as new style breeds Premiership prosperity

So where are Hearts, exactly? The first round of Premiership fixtures complete, now is a timely juncture to analyse the Edinburgh club’s progress since rejoining Scotland’s top flight.

Hearts' Andy Halliday tackles St Johnstone's James Brown in the rain at McDiarmid Park.

They sit unbeaten after the first 11 league matches playing a predominantly attractive, attacking brand of football. There is a stark contrast between now and last season’s often soulless journey through the Championship, and fans are responding to the prosperity.

More than 3,200 travelled to McDiarmid Park for Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw with St Johnstone. They left enthused by a rousing second-half display which should have earned more than a point. Overall, only the most pernickety Jambo would complain right now.

Three draws in succession against Rangers, Dundee and Saints have seen the Edinburgh club slip to third in the table ahead of Saturday’s difficult trip to Aberdeen. Points and goals were conceded cheaply against St Johnstone, Dundee and Ross County but the bigger picture is of an upward trajectory.

Last season’s pedestrian playing style has been accelerated using a new 3-4-3 formation. The much-maligned away record is already vastly improved. Possession underpins everything on the field with distribution from defence a focal point.

Technical craftsmen like Beni Baningime, Cammy Devlin, Barrie McKay and Ben Woodburn have arrived, plus Liam Boyce is bulging nets for fun. It says much that an attacking talent like Jamie Walker, for years a Tynecastle talisman, cannot get a game for Hearts right now.

Those involved feel there is still another level to reach and predict even greater improvement with time. “It’s still just a start. The crazy thing for me is I think we can get better,” said the versatile Andy Halliday, speaking exclusively to the Evening News.

“I believe we have players who still have a couple of gears to go. We are delighted with the start but this is still a relatively new team. A number of new bodies came in over the summer, then we changed shape at the start of the season.

“I don’t think we have clicked 100 per cent yet. You could maybe see that in the final third against St Johnstone. We created plenty openings but it was maybe just the final decision – when to pass, when to shoot, when to cross. Ultimately, it’s been an excellent start to the season. Players, staff and fans all deserve credit for that.”

Halliday himself is very much a squad player due to the strength in depth at Riccarton. The midfielder played left wing-back against St Johnstone after returning to the starting line-up for the first time since August 28 at Dundee United.

“It was my first game in a while and it was pretty difficult conditions with a lot of rain. The pitch was soft and a few bodies were slipping and sliding. In general I feel good. Adrenaline probably took me through the last 20 minutes when we were pushing for three points,” he said.

The rise in standards is exemplified by the fact Hearts players felt Wednesday’s draw amounted to two points dropped at a venue where they are without a league win for 11 years.

“We are disappointed because we do feel it’s two points dropped. Some of the stuff we played in the second half was unbelievable, but I’m almost more proud of the first half,” explained Halliday.

“We said from the start we wanted to be a footballing team who play out from the back. That’s how we feel we will get the best from our players. In the early period in Perth there was a bit of slackness.

“We got a little nervy and made a couple of mistakes but it shows real character the way we continued to play. It led to what was an absolute annihilation in the second half.

“You see it all over the world: A team tries to play a certain style, then they come up against a high press like St Johnstone’s, so they resort to knocking the ball in behind and trying to stretch the game. We continued to play. We have good technical players who can take the ball in tight areas.”

Sticking to principles earned loud applause from the away fans at full-time. There are signs that Hearts are reconnecting with their public following very visible discontent and fan demonstrations outside Tynecastle during the second half of last season.

“I hope people don’t take this the wrong way, but I always feel if you are going to drop points then there are ways to drop points,” continued Halliday. “You have to be committed, give 100 per cent and stick to what you do best.

“In that respect, we can’t be too disappointed with the performance at St Johnstone. On any other day, there is no way we don’t leave without three points. That said, we have said we want to be a team that wins games of football and stays at the top of the table as long as possible.

“That’s three draws in a row now. A draw at McDiarmid Park isn’t the end of the world but we went there to win, so we are disappointed.”

The 90 minutes on an energy-sapping pitch means player recovery is critical if Hearts are to extend this unbeaten run at Pittodrie. “That’s why we have fantastic facilities at Oriam. We will get in and recover because we have a massive game on Saturday against Aberdeen,” said Halliday.

“Sometimes the league table doesn’t tell the full story. I’ve seen quite a bit of Aberdeen and they have had a number of games where they should have taken more points. They are obviously in a transitional period under Stephen Glass.

“We managed to hit the ground running and got results pretty quickly. From what I’ve seen of Aberdeen, there is no doubt they will be up there at the end of the season.”

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