Hearts legend says Neil Critchley needs 'a signature win' in big game

Tynecastle legend John Robertson believes Hearts boss Neil Critchley needs a “signature win” in a big match.

A draw at Motherwell, coupled with St Mirren’s win over Ross County, meant that Hearts slipped from sixth place to seventh just before the split, and will now be involved in a basement battle for the remainder of the Premiership season instead of pushing for Europe.

That’s put pressure on Critchley, who succeeded Steven Naismith in October, and the contrast with Hibs, who were in a worse position than Hearts in the winter, has made things worse for the Englishman.

Hibs have climbed from the bottom of the table to third place, gone on a 17-match unbeaten run and caught the eye with wins over Celtic and Rangers in that time.

Hearts record league goalscorer John Robertson knows how difficult life in the dugout can be at Tynecastle and he said that the blow of failing to make the top six was big but came after a climb from a difficult position.

“It’s hugely disappointing,” he said. “But you’ve then got to go back to the start and look at they were bottom of the league and struggling to get any type of result when the head coach took over.

“That great run in January, February got them to a stage where they were looking at things slightly differently and they’ve not made it.”

Reflecting on the comparison with David Gray’s record at Hibernian as he has turned the team around, Robertson pointed to the statement wins and said that victory in the cup semi-final could be a key game for Critchley to win support and show he has the side on the right track.

“Some of the frustrations from the Hearts fans will be because it tends to be quite tribal at times,” said Robertson, who was speaking at an event to promote Premier Sports’ coverage of the Scottish Cup.

“You look across the city and Hibs have matched a 77-year record, 17 games unbeaten, and yet at the start of that, David Gray was under immense pressure, a lot of people thought he could be on his way.

“I know fans get hugely frustrated, but sometimes a manager needs time. What’s helped David, and there’s no doubt about that, is he’s won what the fans perceive as big games. He’s beaten Rangers at Ibrox, he’s beaten Celtic at home, they’ve beaten Hearts home and away, they’ve won at Pittodrie and Tannadice.

“So Hearts fans will look at that and they’ll judge the managers similarly. When Neil came in, they were both down near the bottom of the league, and look where they are now. There’s no doubt Neil Critchley needs to win a signature game, I think that would help.

“The fact now that Hearts haven’t made the top six, this semi-final is his biggest opportunity to potentially get to a cup final and put a marker down and say ‘of course I’m capable of winning big games’.”