Neil Critchley reveals Hearts' plans for James Wilson's contract after euphoric Hibs equaliser
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Neil Critchley revealed that Hearts have every intention of keeping teenage striker James Wilson after he became an Edinburgh derby hero. The 17-year-old is out of contract at Tynecastle Park at the end of this season but the club have an option to extend his agreement by a further 12 months. Initial discussions have already taken place to that effect.
Wilson’s 87th-minute goal earned Hearts a 1-1 draw against Hibs at Easter Road following Mykola Kuharevich’s opening strike. A Riccarton youth academy graduate, Wilson now has two goals in two league games under Critchley and the new head coach is delighted with the forward’s contribution.
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Hide Ad“Yeah, fantastic. He says it's his goal and I hope it is his and it looks like it was his,” said Critchley. “I've not seen it clear enough to see whether it was or it wasn't, but that's him. He's a goalscorer, he's a goal poacher and I think Alan got a lovely little touch, first contact and it sort of had deflection and then James is there and that's what goalscorers do. They just arrive in the right position at the right time and they find a way of hitting the back of the net.”
Asked about Wilson’s contract situation, Critchley replied that he wants the player to have a big future in maroon. “I hope so, yes. I've been really impressed with James since I've come in. Good kid, always smiling, breath of fresh air. When you need a goal and you need a bit of energy at the top end of the pitch, then I'm delighted to get a chance to turn around and put him on the pitch.
“A part of recruitment is retaining your best players and particularly your young players, so I'm sure that's something we'll discuss. It has been mentioned, it's on the radar of the people around me at the club because you want to give young players an opportunity. Also, if they do well, then you want to reward them - but they have to earn that as well.
“I was ribbing because I'm still not convinced it was his goal,” smirked Critchley. “The lads love him. He settled into the group really well and what a fantastic moment for him, right in front of all the supporters there to go and pick the ball out of the back of the net and celebrate how he did. It was a great moment, I'm sure he'll remember that for a long time.”
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Hide AdCritchley was appointed by Hearts less than two weeks ago and said he enjoyed his first experience of the Edinburgh derby. “I loved it, I loved the whole experience,” he said. “The hostility, some of the things that were said to me behind [the away dugout] were quite enjoyable. I loved it, it's been a great experience.
“I loved watching the team play today. I want us to be a team that always plays our way, never give up our way of playing, whether we're playing home or away, whoever we're playing against. That's sometimes more difficult when they're playing against certain teams or in big atmospheres away from home like today. I felt we came here and showed who we want to try and be consistently more often, and we've just got to keep working at it. We're in the infancy of our development as a group under my coaching and hopefully we're going to keep improving.
“It's a mixture of emotions really after the game, because I'm pleased with the character in which we showed from going 1-0 down, but also disappointed obviously with the manner in which we conceded the first goal, because I felt we were in the ascendancy at that point. We wanted to come here and try and play our way, get control of the game and I felt we did that.
“We got into some really dangerous, threatening positions and failed. Our quality and decision-making let us down. We didn't keep the ball in the final third for long enough and I felt that was the message at half-time, make a few more passes in the final third. We were wasteful in the first half and I felt we started to do that in the second half, we started to push Hibs back. So to concede how we conceded and at that time was hugely disappointing, but I'd say our character after that was brilliant and I think we were deserving of a point.”
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Hide AdHearts lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, as they did in last Saturday’s 4-0 win over St Mirren in Critchley’s first match in charge. “Yes, it was slightly different to St Mirren, but similar. We wanted to get control of the middle of the pitch, the way that Hibs were set up to defend,” explained the Englishman. “We felt we could outnumber them and I felt we did, but you get one day to practice it and you've got to make sure that the possession you do get, you turn that into dangerous possession.
“I don't think we did quite enough with the possession that we had. We didn't threaten the goal enough. In the first half, that was due to our quality and our decision-making around the box. We were threatening and you're thinking: ‘Go on, go on.’ and we failed and I felt second half we started to do that better. When Hibs scored then they can put everyone behind the ball and make it doubly difficult for you. To finish the game the way we did, we were right in the ascendancy. We've had a tough week physically. I think we went right to the end and I was really pleased with the character to which we've shown today.”
Critchley added some detail on how his squad prepared following the rigours of Thursday night’s Conference League tie against Omonoia Nicosia. “On Friday we were obviously in, so the players who didn't play Thursday, they trained. Then we had pretty much one day to prepare, which was yesterday [Saturday], so we go through our things tactically on the pitch, how we want to defend, how we want to attack, how we want to build, how we want to control, create.
“Quite a lot of information goes into the players - set-pieces for, set-pieces against - and the players, as I say, they get a lot of information and they've been really receptive to it. I hope they see the benefit of what we're doing because I felt we came here and played good football. I didn't feel as though we felt nervous by the atmosphere and we weren't playing introverted and anxious. I felt we played with confidence and freedom, and that's what I want us to be in the future.”
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Hide AdConogolese midfielder Beni Baningime missed the derby and the Omonoia game through illness but will hope to recover in time for Wednesday’s Premiership match against Kilmarnock. “He's just ill, unfortunately,” stated Critchley. “He came in yesterday, Saturday, wanted to train but wasn't quite ready, so we had to send him home. You don't want it to spread, so he just wasn't quite 100 per cent, unfortunately.”