Wouter Vrancken's first 100 days at Hearts

After 100 days in charge at Hearts, Wouter Vrancken had a chance to take a breath. 

Vrancken had flown to Spain with the players just a few days after his summer appointment for warm-weather training. When they returned, Hearts only had two more weeks to prepare for Champions League qualifying, facing Sturm Graz home and away.

In those first few months, his new team scored 29, conceded 28, used 28 players, and tried eight different centre-back partnerships.

At his unveiling in late June, Vrancken said it felt “amazing” to be in his first head coach job outside of Belgium. But a jam-packed three months, and his two daughters still living in Belgium, meant that some coaches might have been less positive by the time October arrived.

Loving it

“We’re really loving it,” Vrancken said of his and his wife’s experience in Scotland so far.

During the international break, the coach returned to his homeland and discussed with friends and family whether moving to Hearts had been the right choice. While his daughters being far away is a “downside”, Vrancken was unequivocal, speaking to Hearts Standard: the rest of life in Edinburgh was “great.”

Vrancken praised the fans, who had been “amazing”. They, too, will be enjoying Vrancken’s start at Heart of Midlothian. The club sat 3rd in the table on 13 points, behind only Celtic (18) and Rangers (16), before the international break.

Fans have Europa Conference League trips to look forward to this season, having lost that two-legged Champions League tie with Sturm Graz, then Benfica in Europa League qualifying.

Hearts’ most eye-catching European fixture is a home match against Monaco on 26 November. Any fans who travel abroad for away games might find that they can’t access their usual highlights and streaming services. In these cases, a VPN will help by providing access to servers in chosen countries (Scotland is among the dozens available). Fans can get a trusted VPN client for Windows installed on their mobile device before they leave home.

Adapting to a new style

Vrancken praised the players’ ability to adapt to his style. Calvin Miller told Hearts Standard that the players are given a lot of detail but that it was communicated in a concise manner.

The coach was pleased with what he had seen in the first couple of months but said Hearts could be more “dominant” and also improve their organisation.

The team enjoyed a particularly strong run in September, winning three league games in a row: 2-1 at home against St. Johnstone, 3-1 away to Hibs, and 2-1 at home to Dundee FC. They were joint top scorers along with Celtic before October. Hearts’ 19-year-old James Wilson was one of several SPL players on 3 goals, only behind Josh Fowler at St. Johnstone.

A run of 9 games unbeaten (in all competitions) ended an away match at Falkirk, a tight game in which both sides were aggressive and picked up several yellow cards.

In the opening months, Hearts dealt well with key defenders and midfielders missing. With the international break giving them a chance to recover, the signs were optimistic for Vrancken’s side to continue challenging Celtic and Rangers at the top of Scottish football.