Neilson must break Hearts’ losing habit and hope his mix of youth and experience bears fruit
IT’S not so much a snagging list as a 3-D jigsaw. Tougher than the various challenges confronting his successor at Tannadice?
Robbie Neilson might not say as much, in public. His early chat about adding ‘three or four’ to a solid core is very much the expected message from a new gaffer looking to instil confidence in his squad.
Even as the Hearts head coach waits for a return to training, however, he won’t be short of work.
While Micky Mellon is bedding in at Dundee United, then, Sportsmail looks at the main areas of concern facing his predecessor.
CAPTAINS ALL OVER
Neilson wants to add experience and leadership to a group who, in his view, did not compete and cope with the pressure of playing for Hearts often enough last season.
Which explains the decision to return Christophe Berra to the fold. Never suited to the high defensive line deployed with such abandon by Daniel Stendel, he remains an influential figure in the dressing room.
And Berra might not be the last wise old head added to a group already boasting the street smarts of Steven Naismith.
In the full spirit of getting the band back together, what odds on Neilson taking up Kyle Lafferty’s teasing offer of a Tynecastle comeback?
THE BACKROOM BOYS
Neilson has been given the freedom to bring in his own assistants if he sees fit.
But, considering everything he’s said about introducing a note of stability to a club which has undergone plenty of upheaval in recent years, how much does he really want to change?
Stendel had a clear-out when he arrived last season, ditching a majority of the guys who had been Craig Levein’s aides de camp.
But Andy Kirk, Liam Fox and Paul Gallacher are still in place and, even if the new man does take Lee McCulloch and Gordon Forrest from United, there might be room for everyone.
Achieving continuity while surrounding himself with guys on the same wavelength is the ultimate aim.
THE MAN UPSTAIRS
Far more important is the identity of the new sporting director.
Yes, since Levein and Austin MacPhee left the building at the end of their contracts, Hearts have been without a ‘man upstairs’. However have they coped?
Ann Budge did begin a recruitment process earlier in the summer but, well, things happened. Distractions took centre stage.
Neilson believes the relationship between head coach and sporting director is the ‘most important’ at any club. And he will be involved in appointing the person who, in effect, becomes his line manager.
RECRUITMENT — AND RETENTION
The coach has been pretty specific about what he wants, mentioning pace in the wide areas — but linking that with the need for more seasoned operators. So, in a squad already boasting the youthful energy of Lewis Moore, Euan Henderson, Callumn Morrison and Anthony McDonald on the wing, not to mention the more mature skills of Jamie Walker, Neilson will still be looking for width. He certainly didn’t dismiss talk of Sam Nicholson, just released by the Colorado Rapids, returning to Tynecastle. As everyone at Hearts accepts, however, retaining Aaron Hickey — on the wish list of any number of major clubs — would represent a bigger boost than any new arrival. Neilson’s argument is that Hickey is still too raw and, having seen him out-thought by a couple of old-timers last season, the head coach arguably has a point. If Celtic or any number of big European sides are willing to invest in potential, however, Hearts will at least hope to land a reasonable fee for a player entering the final year of his contract — giving them a little bit of cash for the rebuilding project.
A CULTURE OF CONFIDENCE
Losing becomes a habit. Even for serial winners. And there’s no doubt that this Hearts squad, a group not without successful operators, got hooked on misery last season. There was nothing convincing about them; even when they played comparatively well, you never felt certain that they’d be rewarded with a result. How does Neilson (left) change that? Well, unlike Mellon, he’s probably — but not certainly — got a longer run-in to work on getting things right. With the Championship not scheduled to kick off until mid-October, Hearts have time enough to pick up on snags and rebuild shattered confidence. Assuming they don’t get ‘re-promoted’ back to the Premiership. In which case, Neilson will be just throwing half-finished pieces of the puzzle at the problem — and hoping something sticks.