Hearts star gets honest over why he was 'unhappy' in Neil Critchley era as he opens up on difficult campaign

Hearts star Yan Dhanda has opened up on the Neil Critchley tenure at Tynecastle that left him far from pleased.

The playmaker joined the club last summer from Ross County under head coach Steven Naismith but the arrival of Critchley restricted his minutes. He was one of the players the former Blackpool and QPR head coach knew from time working together at Liverpool earlier in their careers, but Dhanda has played 12 times in the Premiership since November, most of which have been from the bench. While making 31 Hearts appearances this campaign overall, he’s played 1115 minutes of football, equivalent to just over 11 90-minute outings.

A 3-0 win over Motherwell on Saturday showed what he was all about, a wonderful curling effort paving the way for Alan Forrest’s winner. He also had some eye-catching passes and touches in a bright outing and post-match, Dhanda admitted Critchley’s six month reign proved a challenge for him.

Yan Dhanda on Hearts under Neil Critchley

He told the Evening News : “It's been difficult to be honest. I haven't played much, I've had to keep my head down and work hard, but that's football and I think I showed on Saturday what I'm capable of. Obviously it's difficult when you're not playing, but I think everyone just needs a run of games to show what they can do. So I have to just keep my head down, working hard and see what happens.

“I wasn't happy if I'm honest. Obviously I wasn't playing and everyone wants to play and it was difficult for me. I didn't really get a chance to show what I could do, but that's football I guess. Everyone wants to play, so I think it's natural to be disappointed, but that's in the past now. I just have to look forward and keep showing what I can do. I know I can do good things and contribute, so hopefully I get a run of games and show what I can do.

“Saturday was good. I enjoyed it and got quite a few minutes. So yeah, I was happy to get on and contribute. That's my finish really, so when it opened up I knew I was hitting it. Just a good save from the keeper, but we still scored, so it doesn't matter who scores as long as it goes in.”

Liam Fox praise

One man Dhanda has plenty of praise for is interim head coach Liam Fox, who has guided the team to consecutive wins over Ross County and Motherwell. He was the interim man earlier in the season when Naismith was sacked and amid the next managerial pursuit, Dhanda hopes that Fox continues to be a senior influence on the dressing room.

He added: “I have a good relationship with Foxy and he speaks to me a lot. I'm very close with Foxy and I'm just glad the boys showed how his style of play is really attractive. Everyone knows what they're doing on the pitch. Me and Foxy get on well, he communicates with me well and I feel like I know what's required of me when I came on. I'm just happy I've done well, played well and I'm buzzing for the lads and Foxy too because he's a great coach.

“I'm close with him, I've had to keep my head down and train when it's been tough at times, but like I said, it happens in football and you just have to keep going and show resilience and obviously the better days will come. I think you've seen last week and the weekend how much influence Foxy has on this group. Everyone's got a lot of respect for him. I think his ideas are clear and he's very good at communicating. He talks well with the lads. If you need anything, you can go to him and he'll be brutally honest. I think that he should stay. I really enjoy working with him and hopefully I can for the future.”