Neil Critchley says Hearts’ new signings have ‘brought a freshness to the group’

Hearts head coach Neil Critchley feels confident with the strength of squad and their ongoing recruitment strategy after a busy transfer window.

Five players arrived and some have already hit the ground running, with Jamie McCart featuring heavily in central defence while Elton Kabangu has scored five goals in his first three starts.

Norwegian midfielder Sander Kartum and Austrian defender Michael Steinwender have also arrived and Harry Milne signed from Partick Thistle on deadline day.

Critchley, whose side are in Scottish Gas Scottish Cup action against St Mirren on Monday, said: “I think they brought a freshness to the group, not just on the pitch but off the pitch as well.

“Obviously we’ve not seen really Michael and Sander too much and hopefully they’ll start to be a bit more evident further down the line.

“But Jamie’s been magnificent at the back since Kye (Rowles) left and Elton’s come and had a big impact at the top end of the pitch.

“They’ve been a massive help and it just goes to show that recruitment and getting the right players in is a huge part of developing your squad and I’ve been delighted with the work that we’ve done.”

Rowles and Liam Boyce moved on, while Andres Salazar saw his loan deal ended and there were some late surprises for Hearts fans as summer signings Malachi Boateng and Daniel Oyegoke left for Plymouth and Hellas Verona respectively.

Critchley does not feel the swift departures are necessarily a sign of what is to come under the club’s new partnership with Jamestown Analytics, the dynamic recruitment model which has been used to good effect by Brighton.

Critchley said: “Sometimes you’re not prepared for what’s going to come your way and what the player wants to do as well. You have to take that into account.

“We had offers that we thought were acceptable for the club and the players also expressed an interest in wanting those moves to happen.

“In my experience, it’s best to then try and get the best deal for the club and let that happen. They’ve moved on with our best wishes.

“But if you look at our work right across January and the players that have left and the players that have come in, you always want to try and end the window as stronger than when you started it.

“I think we’ve done that and we’ve got a strategy of how we want to move forward. When you have that, it makes the decision-making process a lot easier.”