Cathro still believes in his Hearts masterplan
IAN CATHRO is more confident than ever that he will get it right at Hearts as he enters a critical close-season in his attempts to remould the Tynecastle club.
His Gorgie side lost 2-0 at Celtic’s Premiership trophy presentation party to close their campaign with a fourth successive defeat and just a single post-split point.
In total, Cathro has recorded just six victories since his appointment in December, as Hearts dropped from second to fifth in the top-flight standings.
That dire form has alarmed many Jambos supporters, but the 30-year-old sees the next two months as a potentially transformative period.
‘Absolutely beyond doubt, my belief is even greater than what it was in December,’ said Cathro. ‘Why? It is a personal thing.
‘I have spoken before that there is nothing that could happen that would rock the confidence and clarity I have in my work.
‘For me, what is important is that we have got through a lot in the last five months. We are now in a position where we are very clear in the work we have to do. And we start that straight away.
‘What should fans expect to see next season? I appreciate the question and understand it is valid. But my preference is that I don’t want to say too much about it and instead just get on with it.
‘There are areas we have already identified where we are focused on strengthening and improving. I don’t consider it a major thing, but there will be a significant difference.
‘Pre-season is the most important time of the season for any coach. It is the time when you are away from competition, when you have everyone together and when you can really work.
‘In my mind, I would always start with a pre-season.
‘I broke my own rule coming here early, but that was because it was this club.
‘There was no set of circumstances where I could have missed out on the opportunity to work here.’
Asked whether he felt that same belief still existed within the Hearts hierarchy, Cathro replied: ‘Entirely.’
Hearts had been hammered 5-0 by Celtic when Brendan Rodgers’ team clinched the title on April 2. Cathro was clearly unwilling to risk suffering a similar fate as he effectively set out his side in a 5-4-1 shape and defended deep.
That set-up helped keep the scoresheet blank until five minutes into the second half, when Leigh Griffiths headed beyond Viktor Noring.
Stuart Armstrong then doubled the lead to ensure the Treblechasers would end the season as Premiership Invincibles.
‘It was a difficult environment to come into here because the whole day was about Celtic having a party,’ admitted Cathro, pleased with the debuts made by teenagers Jamie Brandon and Euan Henderson.
‘You never want to be uninvited guests in that case.
‘So we set about making sure that feeling wasn’t present in the first half and I think we did it relatively well. ‘As the game progressed, we could maybe have used the ball a little better more often. There were moments when we did, when we started to get ourselves up and into the game.
‘But we respect that we have played against the best team in the country. For us, there were some okay things and some positive things.’
In the build-up, Cathro sought to play down talk of a half-time bustup with Bjorn Johnsen in the midweek defeat at St Johnstone.
The American striker played the full 90 minutes yesterday, with Cathro indicating he wanted Johnsen to remain next season.
‘No one is entirely in control of these things,’ he said.
‘The market sometimes dictates. But the performance here is one that I would like to have in my team.
‘Bjorn worked well here in a difficult role. You saw a focused player on the pitch.
‘There also has to be a degree of respect around some of the things and some of the comments.
‘If there was an issue you would not have seen such a professional and disciplined performance from Bjorn today.’