Heart of Midlothian

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Hearts head coach Neil Critchley says it is "not a concern" that he hasn't had a lot of time on the training pitch with his squad since his arrival.

With Conference League fixtures and top-flight commitments to juggle, the 46-year-old admits his side are "learning on the job" as he tries to implement his methods and ideas.

After two wins in his opening two games, and securing a dramatic late point against rivals Hibs on Sunday, he is full of praise for the players so far.

“It’s not a concern but as a coach I want some time on the training pitch to improve the players and our way of playing," Critchley said.

"With the game schedule we have at the moment the players are learning on the job.

“They have done that extremely well so far, they have been extremely receptive of the information they have been given.

"Sometimes there is no better learning zone than doing it outside your comfort zone and being on the pitch."

Next up for Hearts on Wednesday night is the visit of Kilmarnock, who have only lost one of their last nine Premiership visits to Tynecastle and will be keen to bounce back from their defeat in Dingwall at the weekend.

On Derek McInnes' side, Critchley said: "If you look at some of the results this season some of the teams are evenly matched.

"There have been some really tight games. If you look at Kilmarnock's recent results they have picked up quite a few points in some very close games.

"They had a fantastic win against Rangers and we know the type of game we are going to face but we have got to concentrate on who we want to be.

"I don’t want that feeling like after the lord mayor's show."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Hearts head coach Neil Critchley has been speaking to the media as his side prepare to host Kilmarnock on Wednesday evening.

Here are the key points from his press conference:

• Critchley is happy with how his side "controlled the game and [our] dominance in terms of possession" in Sunday's 1-1 Edinburgh derby draw.

• He admits Hearts didn't do enough without the ball though, and is "frustrated at the goal we conceded".

• He has had little time to work on the pitch with the players since his arrival and adds that they are "learning on the job".

• With their busy schedule continuing he has "been really enthused by the group and their energy".

• He says he feels there is very little between many of the teams in the Scottish Premiership.

• Beni Baningime is back training but the Killie game may come too soon.

• Critchley says he is well aware of what McCrae's Battalion means to the club and the significance of remembering them, with the upcoming midweek match set to serve as the club's annual remembrance fixture.

Greg Playfair
Fan writer

Neil Critchley can consider his first fortnight in the Hearts hotseat as mission accomplished following his unbeaten start as our new head coach.

It was imperative he built some quick momentum, especially as a lot of supporters felt underwhelmed by his appointment, but he's carried out his task so effectively you do wonder if he is the supercomputer's secret agent.

The biggest test for Double O Critchley from the three fixtures was the trip to Easter Road, but Hearts picking up a positive result versus Hibs was as predictable as James Bond saving the world and riding off into the sunset.

It's fair to say Critchley has saved us from near catastrophe and transformed the side in such a short space of time after our worst start to a season.

When we went a goal down to Hibs, it was telling that he was bold in his substitutions, including taking off our central midfield and trusting 17-year-old forward James Wilson to change our fortunes when he could have opted for experience in Liam Boyce.

Critchley found that fortune favours the brave as Wilson netted his second goal in his many games to draw us level.

In truth, the game was a typical Edinburgh derby in that both sides cancelled each other well and will rue opportunities they both passed up to win it. However, a point apiece was a fair reflection of a game devoid of penetrative quality.

The games are coming in thick and fast and there's now the double-header of Kilmarnock and St Johnstone this week. I'd happily snap your hand off for four points from these two games to maintain the momentum.

There's no doubt Critchley will rotate the squad for Kilmarnock, and given how leggy we looked in the Hibs game, I wouldn't be surprised if Lawrence Shankland is among the bigger names on the bench.

It's clear he's not hitting the form of his last couple of seasons and could do with a bit of a rest.

He will get back on the goal trail and he must look enviously towards Wilson, who has shown an instinctive knack for being in the right place at the right time. I'd give him the nod for a maiden start.

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Hearts' Edinburgh derby hero James Wilson aims to prove he made the right decision in snubbing offers to leave Tynecastle.

The 17-year-old forward, who signed a new two-year deal last April amid interest from clubs including the Old Firm and Manchester United, came off the bench at Easter Road on Sunday to salvage a point with his second goal in consecutive appearances.

Wilson made his Hearts debut in January and has now made six substitute appearances, scoring in the last two.

"Ultimately the reason I stayed was because I wanted to play first-team football," he said. "It's a choice that not a lot of people make.

"I'm just hoping to prove there is the other option here where you stay, you fight for your place, and you try and have an impact.

"Ultimately, if I went down south, I don't know where I'd be at the moment. I could be playing Under-18 football down there, so I'm just trying to prove there's another option."

Wilson's deal expires next summer but new boss Neil Critchley said on Sunday a new contract for the teenager "has been mentioned" and is "on the radar of the people around me at the club".

Asked whether he expected to remain at Tynecastle beyond the end of this season, Wilson said: "Yeah, I hope to. I hope to keep playing well. Whatever happens, happens. I'm just working hard every day, trying to do what I can do."

Wilson scored his first goal in the closing stages of the 4-0 victory over St Mirren in Critchley's first match in charge before his big moment in Sunday's derby.

"As a young player, you're never quite sure when a new manager comes in, but he's been very good to me," he said.

"The manager just tells me to keep going, keep working hard. He wants me to just have an impact on the game when I come on. He was happy last week with the goal, and then the same message against Hibs, go on and try and get an equaliser, and I did that."

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Hearts youngster James Wilson was "dreaming" of scoring a goal in the Edinburgh derby.

The 17-year-old came on as a substitute with Hearts trailing by a goal and netted his second senior goal to secure a point in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Easter Road.

Wilson also scored in last weekend's 4-0 victory over St Mirren nine minutes after being brought on.

"You have to grow up a bit when you are in these situations," the striker said.

"You want to just run around the pitch and cause as much hassle as you can but you need to switch on and take it all in and have as much impact as you can.

"That's [celebrating with the fans] what you dream of when you are coming on or last night when I was going to bed.

"I wanted to go on and celebrate in front of them. So it was a great moment."

We asked for your views on Hearts' 1-1 draw against Hibs.

Here's what some of you said:

Steven: Decent result, decent performance. Controlled large parts of the game. Good saves from Craig Gordon. All this on the back of a massive Conference League performance on Thursday night. Would have taken a point before kick-off. It was a much more damaging result for Hibs. Another big game on Wednesday night against Kilmarnock, we need to keep the momentum going.

Kuptin: Well, at least Neil Critchley has seen first-hand what the rest of us had to watch for the time before he came. Hearts looked clueless until near the end. James Wilson should sub for Lawrence Shankland on the hour each game. Real bottom-of-the-table stuff.

Steve: As much as we enjoyed the European victory, we struggled to get anything against one of the worst teams in the league. A half-decent side would have scored three or four against us. Kye Rowles frequently lost his man, the midfield were static. Shankland and Kenneth Vargas don’t work together. The substitutions left me scratching my head.

Bryan: What a positive whirlwind the first week of the Critchley era has been. Two great wins and an Edinburgh derby draw. We couldn't really ask for more from him and the team. Shoots of recovery in almost every aspect of our game in only eight days and a feel-good factor returning.

Chris: Progress. We were not at our best in the final third but we controlled the majority of the game without doing much. Hibs are a poor football team and their hoof ball should have been punished. Shankland will be begging us for a new contract soon, he looks a shadow of the player we had. It has been a big week, I'm satisfied.

Jim: I'm not sure what to make of this, we need to convert chances. Shankland is possibly overthinking his chances now instead of instinct last season, relying on a young lad shows depth in the pool but Hibs were surely there for the taking. I'm convinced the manager learned more from this game than from his two wins, time will tell.

Watch highlights as Hibs draw 1-1 against Hearts in the Scottish Premiership.

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• Hearts have scored three goals via substitutes in the Premiership this season, only Hibernian (four) and Aberdeen (five) have scored more.

• Hibernian have attempted 12 shots in this game, with six (50%) from set pieces.

• Craig Gordon has made 5 saves, the first time he has made at least 5 saves in a match in the Premiership since facing Dundee on 11th May 2024 (5 saves).

• Mykola Kuharevich has scored two goals in the Premiership this season (one in this game), no Hibernian player has more.

Manager Neil Critchley says Hearts intend to extend the contract of James Wilson after the teenage striker came off the bench to score a late equaliser in the Edinburgh derby against Hibernian at Easter Road. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read the rest of Monday's Scottish gossip.

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Teenager James Wilson secured a dramatic late point for Hearts at Easter Road to keep Hibernian rooted to the bottom of the Scottish Premiership.

Mykola Kuharevich's close-range strike with his first touch following Marvin Ekpiteta's header off the crossbar put Hibs in front in the second half.

Were you at the match or following along from elsewhere? Tell us your thoughts on the game., external

Hearts head coach Neil Critchley: "I loved it, loved the experience. We wanted to come here and try and stamp our authority on the game and play our way, I felt we did that.

"We were quite wasteful at times in the final third in the first hal, [we] had threatening moments but didn't do enough with the ball.

"Second half, I felt we were in the ascendancy but to concede a goal in the manner we did was really disappointing. It's been an Achilles heel for us this season, I thought we'd ironed it out. Obviously not.

"Our response after that was fantastic. Real character after a tough week, physically, to finish the game as strong as we did. The subs made a big difference."

Jack Herrall
BBC Sport Scotland

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Head coach Critchley started life at Tynecastle with a 4-0 demolition of St Mirren and an impressive Conference League win midweek.

They've now scored at the death to deny their rivals the chance to leap above them in the league. These are all things going in their favour but they failed to create many clear-cut chances despite having plenty of the ball.

They finished the game with 64% of the ball, more touches in the opposition box than Hibs, and more passes into the final third. Plenty more attacking stats favoured them too.

However, they only registered two shots on target with the xG suggesting a more clinical Hibs side would have secured three points. The hosts registered 2.16 expected goals to Hearts' 1.15.

Shankland has yet to find his form of last season, with a few of his missed chances undoubtedly going down as goals just a few months ago.

They may have condemned Hibs to a longer stay at the bottom of the table but will need to find a clinical touch if they want to move away from the bottom two themselves.

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James Penrice was a driving force for Hearts from the back, particularly in the first half.

His long throw is an attacking weapon if needed, evidenced in their equaliser.

Craig Gordon kept them in the game a couple of times and Alan Forrest also deserves a mention for his influence when he was introduced.

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Hibernian: Bursik, Miller, Ekpiteta, O'Hora, Obita, Kwon, Triantis, Boyle, Youan, Hoilett, Gayle.

Substitutes: Smith, Levitt, Doyle-Hayes, Iredale, McKirdy, Moriah-Welsh, Bushiri, Molotnikov, Kuharevich.

Heart of Midlothian: Gordon, Oyegoke, Kent, Rowles, Penrice, Spittal, Devlin, Boateng, Dhanda, Vargas, Shankland.

Substitutes: Clark, Kingsley, Halkett, Grant, McKay, Forrest, Wilson, Boyce, Forrester.

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• Hibernian have won just one of their last 11 Edinburgh derbies against Hearts in the Scottish Premiership (D6 L4), a 1-0 victory in April 2023.

• The away side has only won one of the last 10 Scottish Premiership meetings (three home wins, six draws), with Hearts winning 1-0 at Easter Road in December 2023.

• Hibs have lost each of their last three league games; they last lost four in a row in April 2023 – a run they ended by beating Hearts.

• Hearts picked up their first league win of the season in Neil Critchley’s first game in charge last weekend, beating St Mirren 4-0. The last Hearts boss to win both of his first two Scottish Premiership games in charge was Robbie Neilson in August 2015.

• Excluding penalties, no side has scored more goals from set-piece situations in the Scottish Premiership this season than Hearts (six), with this making up 60% of their total league goals (6/10).

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Hibs captain Joe Newell is suspended but Nectarios Triantis returns following a ban. Nicky Cadden and Chris Cadden are battling to prove their fitness while long-term absentees Kieron Bowie (hamstring)and Jake Doyle-Hayes remain on the sidelines.

Hearts hope to have midfielder Beni Baningime back after illness but Yutaro Oda is expected to remain on the sidelines, along with Gerald Taylor and Calem Nieuwenhof.

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Kye Rowles believes Hearts are now digging themselves out of a rut after the appointment of Neil Critchley.

After failing to win any of their opening 10 matches this term, the Tynecastle side have won three of their last four as Critchley starts to make his influence felt.

And with the Edinburgh derby looming this weekend, the Australia international has called on his teammates to keep their newfound momentum going.

“The key is the intensity we’re playing with,” the Australia international said.

“It felt good to be on top from the outset. We’ve tried to do that all season. Sometimes it doesn’t come off and you can get in a bit of a rut, which is where we were at the start of the season, but hopefully this is us building into a bit of form.

“It’s going to be tough to keep playing that way but we want to do it and if it keeps turning out like Thursday, it will be very enjoyable.”

Hearts travel to Easter Road for Sunday’s noon showdown with Hibs for Critchley’s third game in charge, having overseen the 4-0 win over St Mirren and 2-0 victory over Omonia in the last week.

“You can get a bit down when you’re in a rut and you might not try the things you know you can do as a player. That can get tougher, especially the worse the run gets, and unfortunately that’s where we were stuck.

“We’re taking our chances now. We were getting the same chances at the start of the season but we weren’t taking them. And we’ve had two clean sheets on the bounce now, whereas before we were leaking goals.

“We want to be front-foot, aggressive. You saw the difference in how aggressive we were in the first half on Thursday in particular. That goes a long way in getting that momentum.”

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Hibernian captain Joe Newell is suspended, but fellow midfielder Nectarios Triantis returns following a ban.

Winger Nicky Cadden and right-back twin Chris Cadden are battling to prove their fitness, while long-term absentees Kieron Bowie and Jake Doyle-Hayes remain on the sidelines.

Hearts hope to have midfielder Beni Baningime back after illness, but forward Yutaro Oda is expected to remain on the sidelines along with Gerald Taylor and Calem Nieuwenhof.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

To say the last week or so has gone well for new Hearts boss Neil Critchley could be the understatement of the year.

Two home wins against perceived difficult opponents, scoring six goals in the process and conceding none. Where did this come from?

There will be theories about what has changed in those two games but other than a tweak or two in terms of formation, these are the same players who failed so miserably in the opening part of the campaign.

And while the fans will no doubt be delighted about the upturn in fortunes, the difficult times will still be remembered.

What everyone at the club has to do now is be together in helping the new head coach ensure this excellent start to his tenure continues.

Now comes a trip across the city to Easter Road to take on a team low in confidence that sit at the bottom of the Premiership table.

When you delve deeper into Hibernian's results it's fairly clear their issues lie in defence.

If Lawrence Shankland, Kenneth Vargas, or Blair Spittal - who is now looking more like the player he had been at Motherwell - can exploit that backline on Sunday it could well be three out of three for 'Critchley’s crusaders' and the season for Hearts will definitely be looking much brighter than it was a few weeks ago.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Alan Forrest admits "confidence is high" at Tynecastle heading into the first Edinburgh derby of the season after two wins and clean sheets since Neil Critchley's appointment.

The former Livingston winger scored Hearts' opener in the 2-0 Conference League triumph over Omonia Nicosia on Thursday and could be in line to start Sunday's capital crunch at Easter Road.

"It’s massive now," Forrest told BBC Scotland. "If you hadn't a positive result on Thursday night it might have been a bit flat going into Sunday and that's not what we want.

"The win means we can carry on the run off the back of a good performance at the weekend. Our confidence is high going into the weekend."

The 4-0 win over St Mirren last weekend helped Hearts off the foot of the table and leapfrog Edinburgh rivals Hibs, who now sit bottom.

"It’s early, and it’s not where we want to be," Forrest added. "If we can just keep at it I think it can turn for us. It's a good start for us but it's only a start and we need to get higher up in the league, but if we continue with performances like this it stands us in good stead."

The mood around Tynecastle has improved drastically since Critchley hit the ground running, with the victory over Omonia putting Hearts on the brink of progression to the knockout stage.

"I think it just shows you how football can change," Forrest added. "We had a poor start but I think you can see with the quality we have in our squad it wasn't good enough for us.

"But it's there for everyone to see it can turn and we just need to stick at it. It's a good start for us and takes us on to Sunday now."