Hearts boss Neil Critchley admits he could not have dreamt of a better debut after the stunning 4-0 win over St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.
After finishing third last season, Hearts failed to win in their opening eight league games but that winless run ended in style on Critchley’s managerial debut.
Goals from Kenneth Vargas, Daniel Oyegoke, James Wilson and Blair Spittal secured a much-needed three points that moved Hearts off the bottom and above rivals Hibernian ahead of next week’s Edinburgh derby.
“Probably not, no,” Critchley replied when asked if his debut could have gone better.
“When you go to bed last night, go to sleep, you dream of a start like this, scoring a few goals and keeping a clean sheet. I’m delighted for the players, they’ve been fantastic this week, so receptive to the work that we’ve done. I think there were signs of that on the pitch and to keep a clean sheet, I think that’s really important as well.
“I’d say that the way that the players have, in a short period of time, taken our ideas onto the pitch. I thought we started the game really well, with good energy, kept the ball well, passed the ball well, got into good areas of the pitch. We were threatening and the first goal was massive, we haven’t scored the first goal this season.”
Critchely arrived to a baptism of fire with three massive games in a week with a Europa Conference League clash against Omonia on Thursday before travelling to Easter Road.
Hibs surrendered two goals to Dundee United to drop below Hearts and Critchley believes his side will be bolstered from moving off the bottom of the table.
“Yeah, it’s a real confidence boost, you can see that in the players,” he admitted.
“There’s an element of relief, I think. It’s good to get that first win under our belts, and it was an important day today. You don’t want that run to continue and keep going. But, look, we’re in for training tomorrow morning, and we’ve got a really brilliant game to look forward to now on Thursday night.”
St Mirren were poor as they fell to their third consecutive defeat and Stephen Robinson was left questioning the application of some of his summer signings.
He added: “We’ve got a lot of new players who maybe don’t know the parameters and standards that we work to. That’s on me because I’ve had them for long enough and they should know that. Simply, those players won’t play and I’ll just play the players that I trust to do the basics right.
“We worked on patterns in training but we didn’t see any of that today – I need to take responsibility for that. As a group, we are making so many poor decisions and you’ll lose games.”
Nuno Espirito Santo acknowledged no one at Nottingham Forest expected to be third in April but backed his team to embrace the challenge after they started a huge week with victory at Tottenham.Forest had slipped to sixth in the Premier League after weekend wins for Champions League qualification rivals Manchester City, Chelsea and Aston Villa, yet responded with aplomb in the capital.Early efforts...
Chris Wood’s 19th goal of the season fired Nottingham Forest back up to third in the Premier League with a 2-1 win at Tottenham.Forest had slipped to sixth after the weekend’s results, but Nuno Espirito Santo savoured a sweet three points against old club Spurs after early goals from Elliot Anderson and Wood in the capital.It brought Ange Postecoglou’s team back down to earth aft...
Leeds boss Daniel Farke saluted his players for holding their nerve after a 6-0 home win against Stoke helped seal promotion back to the Premier League.Joel Piroe scored four goals, including Leeds’ fastest-ever league hat-trick, with strikes in the sixth, eighth and 20th minutes and added his fourth before half-time after Junior Firpo had put Farke’s side 4-0 up in 26 minutes.Willy Gn...
Burnley captain Josh Brownhill sent the Clarets back into the Premier League with both goals in a 2-1 win over Sheffield United that also saw Leeds promoted and left the Blades relying on the play-offs.Scott Parker made it three promotions with three different clubs in the space of six seasons as Burnley extended their unbeaten league run to a club-record 31 games, bouncing straight back to the Pr...
Burnley captain Josh Brownhill joked the Clarets had “bored our way to the Premier League” after a 2-1 win at home to Sheffield United confirmed their return to the top flight at the first attempt.Scott Parker’s side have conceded just 15 goals in 44 matches and victory over their promotion rivals ensured they could not be caught with two matches remaining.“I’m speech...
West Brom have announced the departure of Tony Mowbray after the club’s play-off hopes were all-but ended by a 3-1 Championship defeat at home to relegation-threatened Derby.The visitors twice punished the Baggies from set-piece situations when Ebou Adams and Jerry Yates struck from corners in the first half.Adam Armstrong’s goal halved the deficit and made for a nervy final 20 minutes...
Ian Holloway emphasised his pride in his resurgent Swindon side, despite Will Wright’s own goal against Bromley ending their slim play-off hopes.Danny Imray nutmegged Tom Nichols on the byline and fired a low ball into the box which bounced off the hapless defender’s shin in the 88th minute, condemning the Robins to a 1-0 loss.Kabongo Tshimanga had earlier missed a first-half penalty f...
Grant McCann admitted the task ahead for him is to keep his players calm after Doncaster put themselves within touching distance of promotion with a 3-0 win over Colchester.Goals from Harry Clifton, Jordan Gibson and Patrick Kelly saw Rovers power into top spot in League Two.It means a victory over promotion rivals Bradford this weekend will see them promoted to League One but McCann is determined...
Leeds boss Daniel Farke saluted four-goal Joel Piroe after his side thrashed Stoke 6-0 at Elland Road to stand on the brink of Premier League promotion.Piroe fired Leeds’ fastest-ever league hat-trick with strikes in the sixth, eighth and 20th minutes and added his fourth before half-time after Junior Firpo had put Farke’s side 4-0 up in 26 minutes.Willy Gnonto headed Leeds’ sixt...
Tony Mowbray felt West Brom “lacked a bit of courage on the ball” as their play-off hopes were all-but ended by a 3-1 home defeat to relegation-threatened Derby.The visitors twice punished the Baggies from set-piece situations when Ebou Adams and Jerry Yates struck from corners in the first half.Adam Armstrong’s goal halved the deficit and made for a nervy final 20 minutes until ...
- 1 Jordan Bowery earns Mansfield a point at Rotherham
- 2 Arteta makes exciting Arsenal transfer claim
- 3 Grant McCann to keep Doncaster players calm despite being on brink of promotion
- 4 Four Tottenham stars could leave this summer
- 5 Man Utd & Man City join PSG in race for Akliouche
- 6 PL side eyeing summer move for Rashford
- 7 Mentality and spirit unbelievable – Daniel Farke praises promoted Leeds players
- 8 Newcastle continue to impress in absence of Eddie Howe with Crystal Palace rout
- 9 Man City in pole position to secure Morgan Gibbs
- 10 Liverpool interested in signing Mason Greenwood