It was a busy week for the Jambos with the arrivals of defender Michael Steinwender and attacking midfielder Sander Kartum and head coach Neil Critchley believes both can make an immediate impact within the group.
Steinwender a central defender standing tall at 6'3, signed from Swedish club IFK Värnamo earlier in the week, meanwhile Kartum signed from Norwegian side SK Brann on Friday.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday's match against Kilmarnock, head coach Critchley said:
“They’re both players we've been tracking for a while really and we're excited to bring them both here. We think they can impact the group immediately but also be good for us long-term.
“We have to just get the balance right of getting them up to speed as quickly as possible but also doing that in a safe manner because both of their seasons finished end of November, early December, so they've not actually had football for a period of time.
"Michael, a defender that we think will be well suited into the style of the team that we want to build. Really good guy, good age, we think he's got more potential and development to come.
“Sander will give us some balance at the top end of the pitch, real attacking creativity. Can score a goal, can create a goal, connect the game together for us, he's technically very good. So, we're excited to have them both here, we've worked hard to bring them here, behind the scenes, a lot of work that's gone on. I’m sure they'll both be great additions for this football club."
The Jambos remain unbeaten in 2025, and Critchley admits that there is certainly an element of confidence within the group at the moment but insists there’s still lots of work and improvement still to be done.
“Yeah, there is, and you feel it around the training ground on a daily basis. I think going into a period of games where you're unbeaten and you've been winning games definitely helps with the positivity and the energy within the group.
"But we're certainly not getting carried away, we're not where we want to be. We just want to keep continuing with our good form and moving forward and reinforcing what we've been doing well. Reminding the group of what we're good at because that's got us the wins and the points that we've picked up. We know Kilmarnock will be a tough test for us again on Saturday. But Tynecastle, I've enjoyed, and we've enjoyed playing there and we need to continue the form that we're in.”
The men in maroon have been unable to get the better of the Ayrshire side this season but Critchley admits the focus is on Hearts being themselves and playing their own game.
“What you learn from the previous games is that they're very tough to play against. You're playing against an extremely well-organised, aggressive team that have a physical threat, some quality in wide areas and up front.
“Derek's a vastly experienced manager and a successful one and knows how to get the best out of his players. And they do it very well. So we know it's a really tough game.
“I thought they were excellent against Celtic last week in the Cup. Gave them a real fright and lots of problems. So, we know we're in for a tough game. However, we're in good form and we've got to try and be ourselves and play our game. Take the game to Kilmarnock and get the crowd behind us and try and enjoy being back at Tynecastle again.”
Finally, regarding team news for the weekend, Critchley confirmed that Lawrence Shankland has returned to training on the grass and could be available, meanwhile Gerald Taylor and Calem Nieuwenhof received more valuable minutes in a closed doors match during the week.
“He's [Lawrence] done more training this week. So that will be a decision that we have to make on Lawrence and whether we think he's had enough to be in contention for the squad. He has been back out on the grass in training.
“Who knows that little break might actually do him the world of good because he played virtually every minute of every game. So, we're hopeful that maybe just refreshed him mentally and physically a little bit. But we also have to make sure he's done enough to be included.
“Gerald Taylor and Callum Nieuwenhof, we had a little game here in the week and they played more minutes. So, they're in a much better position than what they were. So, we're getting there, injury-wise.
“We've not suffered too many injuries touchwood other than, unfortunately, Frankie [Kent] and Kings [Stephen Kingsley], one or two obviously being out. But we've got a pretty healthy squad at the moment. And as always, it's about picking the right team and picking the right formation and hopefully then the players can deliver.”
You can watch Neil’s press conference in full on Hearts TV.
