After finishing third last year, Hearts fans were hoping their team would build on their performances and perhaps even challenge for the title this season, or at least press Aberdeen in second but it didn’t work out that way as they allowed newly promoted Rangers and St Johnstone to leapfrog them in the standings.
They looked like they would be able to at least challenge Rangers for third spot for most of the season under manager Robbie Neilson as Jamie Walker impressed going forward and Callum Patterson proved to be as good a weapon up front as he is defensively at the back. However things started going wrong when Neilson left to join MK Dons and Patterson suffered a season ending injury. John Souttar’s season also ended prematurely as Hearts suffered big defensive problems.
New manager Ian Cathro has had a torrid time since taking over and as he watched his side slip down to fifth, he has only won one of his last 10 games in the Scottish Premiership. A very poor record that has the fans questioning him already. The signing of Esmael Goncalves has been the only positive of his reign so far, the striker showing good promise in the latter half of the year.
In the cup competitions they suffered some bad losses as they went out of the Scottish Cup to bitter city rivals Hibs, while they went out of the League Cup at the first possible opportunity to St Johnstone.
Cathro will be given at least this transfer market to build his own squad and improve, but if things don’t get better quickly it won’t be long before he is shown the door.
