The team still has serious shortcomings, and Hearts supporters jeered when they drew with Petrocub last week, dropping them out of the Conference League.

However, their victory over St Johnstone over the weekend lifted them out of last place in the Premiership going into Thursday’s Edinburgh derby against Hibs.

A fan club Critchley has a message for the Gorgie Ultras, who boycotted the Saints game, despite the fact that their protest was directed at the board rather than the management.

Critchley’s Hearts fan message

The Hearts manager maintains that for the derby and beyond, he and his squad require the complete support of the supporters.

As Petrocub demonstrated, Tynecastle can be venomous, but it can also be a 12th man when the building is shaking.

Critchley responded, “It’s massively important,” when asked about the significance of the supporters on Sky Sports.

“I thought the St. Johnstone match on Sunday had great support.” They were directly behind the team, which had a significant impact.

“We need everyone to be together since we have some young guys on the pitch. As a football team, we must demonstrate our ideals, identity, and principles. We must demonstrate that both on the pitch and in the stands.

When we’re all battling and moving in the same direction, it really helps. And Tynecastle is a difficult place to go when we’re truly aligned.

Critchley assesses Hibs

“I think they are a tough prospect because when I watched them back in October, I thought moments were going against them,” he continued when discussing Hibs’ threat. Their performances, in my opinion, did not match the outcomes they were achieving.

They are in a better time now. However, based on the points we’ve accumulated during our time here, we’re doing rather well. But we’d like to perform better.

“The league is close, the points are close, and the bottom of the table is very crowded. We are about to enter a hectic time.