The fine print on Robbie Neilson’s new contract says his future is secure until 2025 but you won’t catch the Hearts boss looking any further ahead than Saturday’s visit of Ross County.
No wonder given the way the Tynecastle outfit have chewed through managers down the years. If he sees out the full length of his new three-year deal, Neilson will become the first Gorgie gaffer since Jim Jefferies’ first spell in charge during the mid-90s to chalk up five years in the Jambos hot seat.
In the near three decades since, they’ve worked their way through another 15 appointments - and that list doesn’t include around another half dozen caretakers thrust into the spotlight during Vladimir Romanov’s crazy Tynecastle tenure.
So there’s good cause for Neilson not to get too comfortable in his current position. But that’s not the reason for the head coach’s reluctance to gaze too far into the distance.
The modern game is vastly more complicated beast than the one legendary league winning-boss Walker or even Jefferies had to contend with, so when your nose is pressed up against the coalface it’s harder to find a proper perspective on the bigger picture. Laying out a strategic view is the job of sporting director Joe Savage and the board of directors.
Neilson’s is to worry about where the next three points is coming from and given he’s not done too badly on the front lately, he’s not about to change tact.Asked what his goals were for the next three years, he said: “Just to continue to progress. My job is to try to win on a Saturday.
“Joe and the board, their job is to look at the longer term picture.
“If I start thinking about what’s happening in three years then I’ll forget about Ross County on Saturday.
“So my job is to make sure we win on Saturday then the derby after that.
“After that it’s Dundee United and then the European games.
“It’s about taking it in smaller blocks and if we continue to do well on the pitch the next three years will take care of themselves.”
Had a particularly hard-to-please section of the Tynecastle support had their way, Neilson’s name may have been added to the lengthy list of managerial casualties in the capital before he’d masterminded their escape from the Championship.
Having picked up the pieces from Daniel Stendel’s disastrous reign, he prioritised promotion over pretty performances but that didn’t appease those who felt he wasn’t up the job.
Two years on, those critics have fallen silence and the only noise to be heard round Tynecastle is the sound of some pretty solid foundations being hammered into place.
Neilson added: “I’ve always believed that stability and continuity is a key factor in building a club and building a team, whether that be the coaching staff our the players.
“It doesn’t normally happen in football, though.
“Things change and people move in, others move out.
“But I’m really happy here, I’m enjoying it and I think there’s further levels for this club to go up.
“Thankfully, the club are happy with me too.
“You have ups and you have downs.
“That’s where the stability of the board, the stability of the ownership of the club is really important because they look at things in the long term rather than the short term.
“They’re not looking at things that happened a fortnight ago and that’s one of the reasons why I came back here, because I knew the club was very stable.
“We’re in a good place right now with the change in ownership. The foundation have come in and given us that stability. We’ve got the benefactors with Ann Budge and the board is really strong too.
“The club is progressing and as we do that, we want to keep that stability.
“Hopefully touch wood it continues like that and we can keep building.”
Neilson has brought in Lawrence Shankland, Alan Forrest, Lewis Neilson, Kye Rowles and Jorge Grant this summer while also making Alex Cochrane’s Brighton loan permanent.
The hunt for further new recruits continues as Hearts look to beef up a squad that will have to deal with the added strain of European involvement that will run all the way to November.
“European football allows you to bring better players in,” said Neilson.
“We have a few spots in areas we want but we know what we need in January if everything goes to plan, but in football it can change.
“Are we stronger than last season? I certainly hope so.
“My job is to make us stronger, we have more strength and depth.
“If we can get one or two in then it would give us more match winners.
“We had to wait until last September for Barrie McKay and if we need to do that again then so be it.
“I want to get us into the group stages this season and go as far as we can in Europe.
“We have to maintain a challenge in the league and that has to be the key, can we maintain and push ourselves at home to get closer to the Old Firm while doing it in Europe?
“We have to find that balance and that’s exciting.
“That’s where the extra depth is needed due to more games.
“Rangers and Celtic ran with 28 or 29 first-team players, we ran with about 19, 21 at a push.
“This season we have to get the numbers up, we will try to get 24 with some kids as well to let us rotate the boys.”
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