Tireless display helps Daly’s case for a proper deal
JON DALY hopes to have advanced his claim to become Hearts head coach on a permanent basis by fixing a fitness problem inherited from Ian Cathro’s tenure.
A tireless display from his Tynecastle side tamed a dominant Rangers at Ibrox yesterday, securing a valuable point from a stalemate.
The hard-working performance featured stand-out efforts from skipper Christophe Berra and a remarkable shift from striker Kyle Lafferty, whose display out wide was more akin to a left-back’s job.
Daly has specifically targeted improved fitness levels among his group since being called up as interim replacement for Cathro following the club’s Betfred Cup exit before the league campaign began.
After a defeat at Celtic on the opening day, Daly has guided his men to an away win at Kilmarnock and yesterday’s draw against Pedro Caixinha’s side. And he is in no doubt that he can make Hearts better — and stronger — if rewarded with the opportunity.
‘As a club we probably could have done more with them (in pre-season), but obviously the manager was trying to implement the 3-4-3 system at the time and make sure he had that covered,’ said the Irishman.
‘But, from my point of view, the fitness levels were off where I would want them to be.
‘Once we get them a little bit fitter, then we can go and do what they normally do on the ball because we’ve some really talented players in that changing room. But unfortunately for us we didn’t do enough in possession here.
‘We could have passed it a bit better, but you have to credit Rangers because they put us under pressure at times to play passes that weren’t on to play.’
The rigorous Daly regime has earned the thumbs-up from Berra, who stressed that the club’s Under-20 coach ‘has done nothing wrong’ since being handed the gig by director of football Craig Levein while the search went on for a new boss.
‘Since he’s come in the training has been high tempo and competitive,’ said Berra. ‘That’s what you need — to be aggressive and sharp in training because when you come to match day it’s about body contract, winning challenges and second balls out there.
‘You must train through the week really hard to succeed in the Scottish game. We’ve been tired through the week, double sessions and sometimes triple.
‘With the games coming up and a couple of more weeks of training, we are going to be ready to take the club back where it should be.’ Steven Pressley and Paul Hartley are among those to have been interviewed for the vacancy, with Daly hopeful that the time taken over making an appointment is a positive pointer for his own chances.
When asked if the latest performance marked a statement to the board, Daly added: ‘I think it shows I’m comfortable taking a first team.
‘The backroom staff and I work extremely hard so I think it shows we put in the hours, we put in the homework on the opposition. I think it also shows the players are buying into what we’re trying to do.
‘No news is good news — it means I stay in the job, which is good for me. I think, for the board, us getting results and getting the performances have given them the time to make the right decision.
‘They want to make sure they get the right person — whether it’s me or someone else. If we get to Motherwell, there’s an international break and it gives them a little more time.
‘I’ll always back myself and back my ability to do the job. I’m working with fantastic players who you can coach to do something and they’ll go and do something off the cuff because they’re good players. So we’ve identified we can get them a bit fitter and that can only help.’