Exclusive:New Hearts signing ready to start ahead of a pivotal week for the club
Three important Premiership fixtures loom for Neil Critchley
Four of Hearts’ five new signings could be named in the starting line-up against St Johnstone this weekend as they steadily filter into manager Neil Critchley’s team. Elton Kabangu, Jamie McCart and Michael Steinwender have already claimed berths in the first XI, and Sander Kartum is ready to join them at some point during a vital week for the Edinburgh club.
The Norwegian midfielder featured as a substitute against St Mirren and Rangers in Hearts’ previous two matches after arriving from the Norwegian club SK Brann in a £320,000 transfer deal. He displayed passing skills and attacking intent in both appearances and, with both fitness and sharpness improved, is challenging for a starting position this Sunday at McDiarmid Park.
Hearts travel to Perth before facing St Mirren at Tynecastle Park next Wednesday night. Their third fixture in eight days comes at Easter Road the following Sunday, 2 March, when they meet rivals Hibs in the Edinburgh derby. Critchley acknowledged the importance of the next week as he looks to guide his team into the Premiership’s top six. He also confirmed Kartum is ready to play from the start.
“Sander comes into consideration, yeah,” the Englishman told the Edinburgh News. “He has been training for about three weeks with us and is looking better every day. I wouldn't hesitate to start him if I thought it was the right thing to do on Sunday. He is ready to start a game now. We have three games next week as well so we need to think about that. We need to make sure the squad is fit and healthy so we need to manage things to make sure the team plays the way we want to play during this little busy period.
“It is an important week - three games, nine points - and the league can look much more promising than it does now. We only have seven games until the split so every game is important. Every time you play a match and there is one game less, the importance of the ones left increases.
“We go into this week in good mood and feeling confident, but we also know that St Johnstone are tough opponents. They are fighting for their own situation at the moment. They have made quite a few signings and some of them have been integrated into the team.”
Hearts’ fifth recent signing, left-back Harry Milne, is expected to be among the substitutes this weekend. “Everyone is at different stages,” explained Critchley. “Jamie had been playing a little bit and was training all the time at Rotherham. Michael and Sander had a five-week rest period. They had been doing their own individual programmes but they were still on a break after their season ended. So, really, this is like their pre-season time.
“For Michael to come in and play as long as he did against St Mirren, then play as well as he did in a big game against Rangers, is credit to him. Sander is looking better all the time in training. You can see how much fitter he is looking and he is finding rhythm all the time. When he came on last week, I thought he showed his quality and the ability he's got. It puts us in a healthy situation at this moment in time.”
The return of captain Lawrence Shankland following a calf injury provides an extra attacking option. He has played as a striker and an attacking midfielder since regaining full fitness last month. “I think he has benefited from that break,” commented Critchley. “We asked him to play a slightly different role on Sunday against Rangers and I thought he played it extremely well. He showed good intelligence and was very disciplined without the ball.
“He did a great job for the team and nearly scored in the first half. There were one or two moments in the second half where he was in really good positions. If we had just shown a little bit more composure in those situations, Shanks was actually free. We could have made an extra pass or set him up inside the penalty box. It’s just about us trying to get him in the box and supply him with the right chances. If we do, then we know he can take them.”
Critchley must decide who starts at right-back against St Johnstone between teenager Adam Forrester and the Costa Rican loanee Gerald Taylor. Sunday’s 3-1 defeat against Rangers at Tynecastle ended Hearts’ eight-game unbeaten run, however their performance included many positives.
“We conceded three goals but we restricted Rangers to very few clear chances,” said the head coach. “I thought we defended well as a team. It's always a team effort, everyone is responsible for everything on the pitch. We defend together and we attack together. We place a big importance on how we train together so everyone understands what is required. If we do decide to change the system or personnel, then the players are comfortable because this is how we prepare every day.”
He admitted it can be difficult to gauge how this week’s opponents will play. The arrival of Simo Valakari as St Johnstone manager in October, allied to eight new signings during the winter transfer window, makes them somewhat unpredictable. “St Johnstone always try to play football. They want to play and control the game,” continued Critchley. “That can cause problems for you because they have different systems and a different way of playing each opponent. They can be a little bit unpredictable in terms of how they start the game.
"We have to be prepared. A lot St Johnstone's games have been very close with not a lot of goals in their recent matches. Any game away from home in the Scottish Premiership is tough so this will be no different. The players they recruited in January complement the way they want to play. That's really important. You've got to have the profile of player to play the style of football you want to play. There's no doubt St Johnstone are playing a particular way.”
Hearts won both previous meetings between the clubs this season by a 2-1 scoreline. “Those games were very close and they can cause you problems with how they play the game,” said Critchley. “We know we have to be very good without the ball and be very switched on. Also, as you saw against Rangers, we want to dominate with the ball and play our football. If we can keep the ball, then St Johnstone have less chance to hurt us. We will always respect them but we want to be ourselves.”