I was the Hearts Grim Reaper but Critchley has brought Jambos back from the dead and third place is ON - Ryan Stevenson
Let's be honest. It’s not been much fun writing a weekly column about Hearts over the last six months. As grateful as I am to have this role with the Daily Record, it’s not exactly been a barrel of laughs lately, has it?
There have been times when I’ve felt a bit like the Grim Reaper of Edinburgh. Had things got any worse for my old club I’d have posed for a new picture wearing a black hooded cloak and carrying a scythe. So I can’t tell you how good it feels to be sitting here right now with a smile plastered all over my face on the back of the most enjoyable few days of the season on Gorgie Road.
Saturday’s 6-0 win at Dundee felt like a game changer where this whole campaign is concerned. The transfer window then closed on Monday night with the squad looking in great shape for the remainder of the campaign.
And let me tell you something, if I was in that dressing room right now I’d be telling the boys that a third place finish in the league is now an achievable target. That may have sounded ridiculous just a few weeks ago but it doesn’t seem quite so daft now that Hearts are moving up through the table again and are currently just seven points behind Dundee United.
OK, nobody could have foreseen the wheels coming off at Aberdeen as spectacularly as they have. But with Jimmy Thelin’s team in a state of free fall I genuinely believe third spot behind Celticv and Rangers is up for grabs.
United are in that position for the time being but they’re also struggling for wins at the moment. So why shouldn’t Hearts aim high now that they’ve managed to get themselves back into the chasing pack? Seven points is far from insurmountable, especially when you consider that Hearts are third in the form league since Neil Critchley