Hearts sack head coach Neil Critchley following home defeat to Dundee

Hearts have parted company with head coach Neil Critchley following the side’s 1-0 home defeat to Dundee on Saturday.

Critchley had only been in the role for six months but paid the price for results that left the team in the bottom six of the Premiership.

The Englishman was appointed as Steven Naismith’s replacement and inherited a side at the bottom of the table. He guided the team away from the bottom but after slipping out of the top half in the final game before the split, the defeat to Dundee leaves Hearts just five points above the relegation play-off spot with four games left to play.

Critchley had been criticised for a failure to find consistent results and in particular an inability to land a ‘statement win’ after losing a number of key games.

In December, he saw his team crash out of the Conference League after a draw with Petrocub that saw Hearts jeered off the park. Critchley failed to defeat Hibernian in any of his three derbies in charge and a 0-0 draw at Motherwell two weeks ago ended hopes of a push for Europe and consigned the team to the bottom six.

Last weekend, defeat to Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup saw the last chance of a positive end to the season go.

After Saturday’s defeat, Critchley had said he was “confident” in his ability to move the team forward and deliver success next season. However, the board decided to act and will now be looking for a new face to lead the first team.

A club statement read: “Heart of Midlothian can confirm that it has today parted company with head coach Neil Critchley and his assistant Mike Garrity.

“The club would like to thank Neil and Mike for their efforts during their time in Gorgie and we wish them well for the future.

“Liam Fox will take control of first-team affairs on an interim basis.

“No further comment will be made at this time.”

More to follow…