Heart of Midlothian

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After being consigned to the Premiership's bottom six before suffering Scottish Cup semi-final heartbreak on Saturday, would it be controversial to say Hearts are still "moving in the right direction"?

Perhaps, but The Herald football writer Stephen McGowan feels there is no need for the Tynecastle club to overreact amid a disappointing campaign.

A growing number of fans have started to doubt head coach Neil Critchley, who has faced intense criticism for failing to achieve a statement result in big games since his appointment earlier this campaign.

McGowan feels that narrative could cause the Hearts boss a problem if he is unable to put an end to it, but he believes the Englishman deserves more time to improve the team with the help of Jamestown Analytics' player recruitment model.

"If you look at the record against Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen and Hibs, it's problematic for any Hearts manager because you have to win those big games," McGowan told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"I think what you would say is when he came in, Hearts were bottom and they have absolutely improved things since then.

"His point that if he'd been in from the start of season then they wouldn't be in anything like this situation is probably fair.

"It's massively disappointing to miss out on the cup final, but I don't think there should be an overreaction to missing out on the top six.

"I think Hearts are still moving in the right direction and Jamestown Analytics have to be given time and opportunity to prove the standard of player they are signing.

"The question is whether Critchley is the man to deliver the sustained improvement they're looking for. Personally, I wouldn't overreact."

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Former Hearts defender Dave Clunie has died at the age of 77.

Edinburgh-born Clunie made 354 appearances for the club between 1964 and 1977.

After leaving Tynecastle he spent a season with St Johnstone before retiring in summer 1978.

Greg Playfair
Fan writer

As Hector Nicol's song goes, 'There is no other team to compare with the Hearts' and it probably sums up our season perfectly.

Only Hearts could go from pre-season optimism about domestic and European football to spending 30 out of 33 weeks in the bottom half of the table, stumbling against the worst side in the Conference League and an early League Cup exit to Championship Falkirk.

The Scottish Cup provided our last opportunity to salvage any positivity from this season, but instead there's been glorious failure being celebrated at being knocked out at the semi-final stage to Aberdeen. Good thing that's not a lyric in Nicol's song.

Of course, we had to play almost 80 minutes with a man fewer and for four minutes we were down to nine but that late Aberdeen winner could have been scripted before a ball was kicked.

Michael Steinwender's sending off before half-time is unfortunately a clear red card. The second booking for Cammy Devlin was ludicrous but I'm not keen to say that is solely the reason why we lost.

Should Neil Critchley have subbed the already cautioned Devlin, instead of Beni Baningime, for Blair Spittal given the Australia midfielder had already made a number of fouls before his second booking?

There's been much said among Hearts supporters about where this defeat leaves Critchley. It cannot be ignored he has done well against 'lesser lights' in the league, including the 6-0 victory at Dundee as well as good wins at Tannadice and in his first European game versus Omonia Nicosia.

The much-vaunted league table since Neil Critchley's arrival would have us fourth behind the Old Firm and Hibs, which is great on paper and would make it seem mad we're even talking about his future.

The case for the prosecution is we will go a league season failing to chalk up even one win against Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen or Hibs.

For some supporters, back-to-back defeats against Hibs is bad enough. Add in the Petrocub performance in Europe and the fact we haven't won in four games now - with a 'must not lose' game looming against Dundee at Tynecastle on Saturday - and the pressure is really on the head coach.

I really want Critchley to be a success, but from the body of evidence we've seen, I'm not convinced he can turn round the perception from a lot of Jambos that he's just not cut out for the role.

My fear is we're kicking the can down the road with Critchley and we've seen this movie before with Hearts managers when they start to lose the backing of the fans. Very rarely – if ever – in modern times do they recover.

Hearts defender Adam Forrester, the 20-year-old who signed a new contract until 2028 last week, says he would prefer to stay at Tynecastle and fight for a starting place rather than head out on loan next season. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Everton are close to agreeing the summer transfer of Hearts defender John Dodds, the 16-year-old having been watched by a number of clubs in Scotland and England. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Nick McPheat
BBC Sport Scotland

How many times have you heard a relegation-threatened manager talk about the need to hit the coveted 40-point mark?

Well, the truth is, no Scottish Premiership team has ever required that total to avoid the bottom two since the play-offs were brought back more than a decade ago.

However, that is projected to change this season.

Based on current points-per-game averages, 11th-placed Dundee are set to end on a total of 39, meaning 40 could be the magic number to guarantee safety.

If that is the case, that would mark the highest tally required to ensure survival in Scotland's top tier since 38-game seasons were reintroduced in the 2000-01 campaign.

That would also mean Hearts are effectively safe, given they are already on 40 points and four teams would need to make up ground on them, while eighth-placed Motherwell would need just a single point from five post-split games.

With Kilmarnock in ninth and Ross County in tenth both currently on 35, which is just one more than Dundee's 34, the fight to avoid 11th is clearly likelier to be between those three.

But that is not set in stone. The nature of the split means each team in the bottom half will face the other before the end of the campaign, so there is scope for points-per-game averages to fluctuate.

And what does all of this mean for St Johnstone? Well, the 33 points Simo Valakari's side are projected to finish on would be the highest for a bottom-placed team in the Premiership since 2017.

That would be no consolation for the Perth club if they go down, but that is certainly not guaranteed to happen just yet.

However, they have a real fight on their hands to make up a five-point gap while improving their inferior goal difference.

Craig Gordon says there has been no progress made about his own future with Hearts and the 42-year-old Scotland goalkeeper is just going to "see what happens" when his current contract ends in the summer. (The Scotsman), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Goalkeeper Craig Gordon says his Hearts side are "angry and disappointed" as they had two men sent off in their 2-1 defeat against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.

The Tynecastle club were reduced to 10 men in the first half when Michael Steinwender was shown a straight red card for hauling down Topi Keskinen.

Hearts managed to hold on until extra-time where Cammy Devlin was shown a second yellow card and Hearts had to play the remainder of the additional period with nine men.

"We're pretty angry and disappointed," the 42-year-old said.

"I thought we were doing well, we were going to take it to penalties and take our chances there.

"I felt that the boys in front of me were doing a great job. Anything that came through I managed to save. It looked like we were going to take it to penalties and give ourselves a chance.

"Unfortunately, the big moment comes from a second yellow card for Cammy to put us down to nine and we have to hang on from there.

"The second goal comes exactly from the position that Cammy had been defending on that left-hand side of midfield, dropping in front of the back five and the play straight through from where he would have been.

"I'm really disappointed that was a second yellow card and disappointed not to get the chance to take the penalties. I feel a little bit let down by that, but that's the situation, we can't change it.

"The referee's made his decision and everybody feels a bit let down by that one, but he's got that split second to make that decision. He felt that was a yellow card, we obviously didn't."

We asked for your views on Hearts' 2-1 defeat against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi-final.

Here's what some of you said:

James: Same old at Hearts, against a poor Aberdeen side. Lots of possession, no goal threat. One shot on target with 11 men. The three strikers up front has never worked, two strikers off at half-time with two centre backs on. What shape is that? Especially when our slowest striker is left on, sheer lunacy. The first red card okay, the second was ridiculous. Now we're staring at a relegation fight. Neil Critchley and Andrew McKinlay have to go. When was the last manager with a winning record appointed at Hearts?

Tam: This game just summed up our entire season. The big moment fell to Aberdeen who took advantage of some horrific refereeing. I couldn't fault the effort of the Hearts players today, but in these tight games you sometimes need a touch of good luck and we have had none of that this season. So the rebuilding starts now and here's to a better season next time.

Peter: We were full of determination and no lack of effort. Poor judgement by Michael Steinwender cost us dearly - it's better to lose a goal than be down to 10 men. Cammy Devlin should not have been booked, had the opponent not put his leg in, Cammy strikes the ball, VAR should have intervened. Critchley made good decisions, no blame falls his way this time.

Michael: Inevitable baying for the manager's head will come, completely ignoring the fact that we had two points and were bottom of the league when he took over. We sacked Steven Naismith weeks into his new deal before Critchley, costing us a huge amount, and Critchley's contract runs until 2027. We can't waste money on sacking another manager with years left on their deal. He's had one transfer window to fix all of the problems we have, and it's not his fault that the team - third in the league in expected goals rankings - can't score goals. A pacey goal scorer is badly needed in the summer, as well as a halfway decent creative midfielder, and the eternal search for a right back continues.

Mark: A good game to watch with a lot of positives but in reality it sums our season up. It's time to rebuild and try a few different things for the remaining games of the season. Critchley has steadied the ship from the shambles he inherited but ultimately teams go through rough patches and that's what happened to Hearts this season. A few players to move on, possibly a change in coaching staff and a few good signings and we should be back on track. On the whole a disappointing season but onwards and upwards.

Alexander: I feel for Critchley but he was never the right appointment. He lacks charisma and a big game mentality. Hearts have the third biggest budget in the league. Could anyone honestly say we have the third best manager in the league?

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• Aberdeen had the bigger share of possession with 61 percent, compared to Hearts' 39 percent.

• The Dons had 18 shots, with four on target, while the Jambos attempted seven shots, and only had one on target.

• Goalkeeper Craig Gordon made three saves, compared to Dimitar Mitov, who didn't have to do much in the Aberdeen net.

• Seven cards were given in this match, with three yellows to Aberdeen, and two yellow cards and two red cards to Hearts.

"We're all behind him." Hearts midfielder Beni Baningime insists all the players at Tynecastle believe in head coach Neil Critchley as he bemoans a "strange season" following Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final defeat. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read the rest of Sunday's Scottish gossip.

Hearts suffered late Hampden heartache after Aberdeen scored a winner late into extra time in their Scottish Cup semi-final.

Were you there or watch live on BBC One Scotland? What did you make of the team's performance and the decisions to send off Hearts' Michael Steinwender and Cammy Devlin?

Have your say.

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Neil Critchley gave a confident "yes" when asked if he will be given the time to steer his Hearts side to the "positive future" he envisages despite their Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by Aberdeen.

"It really hurts," the head coach told BBC Scotland. "Gutted for the players, gutted for the supporters.

"I thought we were brilliant in the game. We were the better team in the first half and then to defend as well as we did for as long as we did with 10 men, I thought we showed real grit and character, not without opportunities ourselves.

"The least we deserved was to take it to penalties."

Centre-half Michael Steinwender was sent off for a last-man challenge shortly before the break with the sides level at 1-1.

"The red card came out very quickly," Critchley said. "He was a long way from the goal."

Midfielder Cammy Devlin was shown a second yellow card shortly before Aberdeen's extra-time winner and Critchley again disagreed with referee John Beaton's decision.

"I have to be careful what I say regarding the referee's performance because I'll get into trouble," he said.

"In particular, the second one, which in my opinion has cost us the opportunity to go to penalties.

"He shouldn't have been booked for the first one - the [Aberdeen] player is offside. For the second one, he is in a position to clear it and he just gets in front of him.

"He [the referee] has to show a bit of understanding of the situation. They score straight after bedcause we can't cover the width of the box with another man down."

Hearts now must concentrate on staying clear of relegation trouble after missing out on a top-six finish last weekend.

"I am not concerned at all because I see what we've got in the dressing room," Critchley added. "We had a disappointment last week and my players go and produce a performance like that.

"We've got plenty to play for and the players know that. We are gutted right now, but we've got more than enough fight and character to be fine.

"I couldn't have been prouder of the players and the way they played the whole game. The supporters got right behind the team.

"I have seen enough of this group to be positive about the future."

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

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Hearts have struggled this season to beat any of the best sides in the Scottish Premiership, so facing a side sitting fifth was always going to be a test of Neil Critchley's tactical guile in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.

The return of Shankland after two games on the bench, strike partner James Wilson from suspension and Cammy Devlin into midfield looked to have done the trick as they looked to beat the Dons for the first time in four meetings this season.

Aberdeen's pace was, though, always going to be a threat and so it proved when Michael Steinwender was forced to haul down Topi Keskinen and was shown a straight red card shortly before the break.

Critchley responded with a 5-3-1 formation similar to Rangers as their 10 men won the second half away to Aberdeen last weekend to come from two goals down to draw 2-2.

However, a lack of pace has been Hearts' Achilles heel this season and the lack of an outball proved crucial as Aberdeen's pressure eventually told and the Edinburgh side fell at the semi-final hurdle for a second season running.

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The PFA Scotland Premiership Team of the Year has been revealed and James Penrice is one of only two non-Old Firm players to be included.

The defender joins Celtic's Alistair Johnston and Cameron Carter-Vickers as well as Rangers' John Souttar in the back four selected by their fellow players.

The left-back has scored two goals and set up four so far this term.

Kazakhstan winger Islam Chesnokov, 25, is set to join Hearts on a pre-contract agreement, with documents ready to be processed within the next month. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read the rest of Saturday's Scottish gossip.

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As the sides prepare to go head to head at Hampden this weekend, relive their previous Scottish Cup semi-final meeting as Hearts beat Aberdeen 2-1 in 1996.

(Available to UK users only)

Nick McPheat
BBC Sport Scotland

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Is a lack of cutting edge the reason why Hearts are consigned to the Scottish Premiership's bottom six?

Earlier this week, head coach Neil Critchley told BBC Scotland that the team passing up opportunities had become a "recurring theme" of their season.

And chief executive Andrew McKinlay also pointed to the side's "inability to take our chances" in a club interview.

But what do the numbers say?

The Edinburgh club have the division's fourth-best expected goals tally but have only underperformed that slightly, scoring 43 goals from an xG total of 44.7.

However, if you dig a little deeper, the data backs up the view of Critchley and McKinlay.

According to Opta, only Celtic and Rangers have recorded more 'big chances' than Hearts (63).

But the Tynecastle side have only converted 33% of those opportunities - that is the worst in the league.

Critchley, having come in for intense criticism from some fans after missing out on a place in the top half, aims to win over doubters on Saturday when his team face Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup last four at Hampden.

Although disappointed at missing out on the top six, Critchley pointed out that his side's points return since he took charge is among the best in the Premiership.

Only Celtic, Rangers and Hibernian - the current top three - have collected more points than the 38 the Tynecastle club have taken in that 25-game period.

"We had two points after eight games," Critchley said. "Since I've been here, we've accumulated a lot of points.

"You could say in points per game, we'd be comfortably in the top six if I was here all season. But I wasn't and the reason I am is because of what happened [at the start of the season].

"I can only deal with the here and now and the group that's in front of me, and I think we've shown progress. The next step is for us to go and take a big step forward on Saturday and progress to the final."