1 week Ago By Andy Devlin
JURGEN KLOPP brought him into his inner sanctum at Liverpool. Now Neil Critchley wants to build his own empire at Tynecastle. 3 Neil Critchley is the new Hearts manager Credit: Rex 3 He was part of the academy setup at Liverpool Credit: PA 3 He wants to bring the spirit of Anfield hero Jurgen Klopp to Tynecastle Credit: AFP The 45-year-old helped Klopp rekindle the traditions and values of the fabled Anfield boot room during the German’s nine-year reign on Merseyside.
After landing the Hearts job this week, Critchley has set his sights on creating something similar in Gorgie. Critchley cut his coaching teeth in the Liverpool Academy, where Klopp would regularly meet with his staff. It gave Critchley a unique insight into what makes a top-level manager tick.
READ MORE FOOTBALL STORIES PED MIST Shock moment ex-Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha sparks huge full time BRAWL FREE BETS Deposit & Bet £10 to Get £60 in free bets for Scottish football at William Hill Asked what the best bit of advice Klopp ever gave him was, the new Jambos gaffer said: “To be yourself. I think one of his greatest strengths is his authenticity, what you see is what you get. “He just had a way of speaking to people and dealing with them which I thought was fantastic.
And that’s why he created an environment that was unique and special. “I think they got the success not just because of the quality of the players that were there, but also because of the human aspect. “And there was no better than him in producing that.
Most read in Football HEARTS STOPPER Craig Gordon tells sceptical Hearts fans to support new boss Neil Critchley PRIORITIES Rangers' next Europa League opponents 'will play weakened team at Ibrox' KIT CLASH Awkward moment Scots footie presenter requires costume change in VAR review show LOCKED OUT Celtic handed shock away fan BAN over Dortmund fireworks as Uefa get tough “He rekindled that Anfield boot room. “I wasn’t there all the time, every day, but I lived it and I had enough experiences of being around it, speaking to him to know that it was something special. And it was.
Dinamo Minsk 1 Hearts 2 - SunSport's Robert Martin reacts as Yan Dhanda's stoppage time winner in Azerbaijan finally ends Jambos' losing streak “It sounds a bit cheesy or corny, but they’re good people. “The players were a good group of people — humble, hardworking, and you can’t play for Jurgen Klopp if you don’t have certain characteristics. “And that’s what I want to try to bring and replicate here.
” If that’s his bold vision for the future , the here and now is far more pressing for Critchley. He has inherited a Hearts side who sit rock bottom of the Scottish Premiership . The Jambos are without a league win all season, with ex-boss Steven Naismith paying the price last month .
His successor Critchley insisted: “I know where we are and I know the reality of the situation that we’re at this moment in time, but I always see it as a positive. “I see plenty of games, plenty of points to play for, and we can change the feeling around the place and in the club very, very quickly. “I have to say from being around the staff and the players this morning , and this is not meant as a negative, and I know this can happen with change, but everyone I’ve spoken to speaks well of the group in terms of the people.
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“And when I’ve watched the games , I don’t see any lack of togetherness or spirit. I just see some things maybe have not gone quite their way yet so far. “There are certain aspects of the game I think we can improve on, and that’ll be my immediate focus.
” Hearts have scored just six league goals this season — they’ve shipped 15 at the other end. And while it seems pretty clear where their immediate problems lie, Critchley wants to implement his own style as quickly as possible. He stressed: “We want to be forward-thinking in how we play, so attack with the ball, attack without the ball, have intensity, have aggression, have the ball.
“If you’ve got possession and the ball it gives you a better chance of deciding what happens on the pitch. “I think that would be some of the reasons, like the analytics in terms of the model in which we want to adopt here to take the club forward. “But again what I see from the team and what I’ve seen recently, sometimes at this moment in time you also have to do what you think is the right thing for the players and sometimes simplicity is genius and just putting the right players in the right positions and allow them to do what their attributes bring to the pitch, I think that’s also something for me to consider right now.
” Read more on the Scottish Sun BEST BAR NAAN Two Scots Indian restaurants named among best in the world MAKING WAVES Ten Scottish chippies in the running to be crowned UK takeaway of the year Critchley is also excited by the prospect of managing in Scotland , adding: “Obviously I’m a football fan and I love football. I’ve watched numerous games over the years from Scottish football and I’ve watched all the Hearts games so far this season. “When I left Liverpool to go to Blackpool , it was, ‘Oh he’s only a youth coach, what does he know about men’s football?’.
We got promoted in our first year.” Keep up to date with ALL t h e latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page.
