Craig Gordon has ‘high hopes’ for Hearts’ future under Neil Critchley

Craig Gordon believes Hearts are on course for a fruitful future under Neil Critchley as he praised the “methodical” head coach for transforming them from relegation fodder to European contenders in less than five months at the helm.

The 46-year-old former Blackpool and QPR boss was appointed as Steven Naismith’s successor in October when the beleaguered Jambos were two points adrift at the foot of the William Hill Premiership with just two points from their opening eight matches.

Critchley has turned Hearts into one of the form teams in the league – with just one defeat in their last 11 – and they climbed into the top six for the first time this season on Wednesday after defeating St Mirren.

Just five points adrift of third-placed Aberdeen ahead of Sunday’s Edinburgh derby at Hibernian, Scotland goalkeeper Gordon is excited about the possibilities for his side under Critchley, both in the short and longer term.

“There was probably only one way things could go, we had to start climbing the table,” said Gordon. “He’s really come in and brought everyone together. He’s tried a few different things. He’s tried different formations, different people to find out what worked.

“He’s slowly built us into a good unit that’s winning matches. You’ve got to give him great credit for the way he’s gone about it. It’s been a work in progress, I’m sure he would admit that.

“Throughout the season he’s been trying to add things in as we go. I can see us continuing to improve under him and continuing to push up towards the top end of the league and going into next season with high hopes for that one as well.”

Gordon believes Hearts are only going to improve as Critchley continues to impart his ideas.

“Tactically and on the pitch he’s very methodical about what he wants everybody to do,” he said. “He’s just building on that as every training session goes by. He’s trying to give the players more and more information.

“He came in and kept it very simple to start with and slowly but surely he’s just adding layers to that in every training session that we do. He’s built it up really well. The players are taking on board what he’s asking them to do. I think we can see that improvement.”

Gordon admitted Hearts are now sensing the opportunity of a fourth successive season in Europe, a scenario that seemed highly unlikely at the turn of the year. Victory over Hibs, who are four points ahead of the Jambos, would further enhance that prospect.

“It’s games like this between now and the end of the season that are going to determine where we finish,” he said.

“We’ve got ourselves back within touching distance, but we still have a bit to go. We’re still playing catch-up on where we want to be, but we’re slowly building ourselves back into a position where we can challenge.

“It’s a good turnaround. We need to keep winning games to make sure we complete it. It would be an absolutely incredible achievement to have come from where we have to finish the season with any kind of European football.

“At the moment, it’s about winning games and putting back-to-back results together and continuing to put pressure on those above us.”