Kris Boyd has warned Hearts' doubters that the Jambos are not going anywhere as he refused to rule out another title challenge this season.
Hearts came within minutes of clinching the Premiership title last term, but have since started a new chapter under Wouter Vrancken after Derek McInnes' departure to Rangers. The Belgian is tasked with reshaping both the squad and the style of play, and his first domestic test comes away at Aberdeen this evening.
That preparation was disrupted by a heavy Champions League qualifying exit to Sturm Graz, who beat Hearts 6-0 on aggregate. Boyd, however, believes the result should not be over interpreted, especially with Tony Bloom and Jamestown Analytics underpinning the club's recruitment.
No need to panic over Sturm Graz
Speaking to Sky Sports, Boyd said: "They need to dust themselves down after a disappointing Champions League game against Sturm Graz. There's been better teams from Scotland lost Champions League qualifiers to worse teams than Sturm Graz."
He added: "With all the changes that Hearts have made, were they ready for that Champions League qualifier? Probably not at this stage of the season.
"There's loads of new faces coming in, but you've got to back Jamestown Analytics. You look at what they've done at Brighton, you look at what they've done at Union Saint-Gilloise - there is a number of other clubs throughout the world using the data to sign players.
"There are some good players there already, going into a dressing that already had good players in it.
"For me, a lot of people will judge Hearts on that result against Sturm Graz. I wouldn't read too much into it. I still think they'll be a force in Scotland this year."
A long-term project
Boyd also believes the data-driven approach will eventually generate significant transfer revenue. "They'' continue to get players and some will work, some won't. The exact same as what happened at Brighton at the start, the exact same that happened at Union Saint-Gilloise.
"But they will get to a level where they will bring in players and start to sell them for a lot of money. All of a sudden then the expectation starts to rise, but the calibre of player coming in will be able to sustain Hearts' challenge at the top end of the table for years to come."
Title challenge not ruled out
Asked whether Hearts can challenge for the title, Boyd responded: "Do I think they will be a title challenger? I wouldn't rule it out this season.
"Rangers and Celtic will get stronger and a lot of people will look at that Sturm Graz result and think 'yeah, hearts, one season wonders.'
"They ain't going away. And I'll tell you one of the main reasons why they ain't going away; you ook at Tony Bloom - he's a successful business man at every single thing he's done.
"Do you think he's going to take a step back as say 'we were really close last year' or do you think he's going to say 'you know what? That was our first year of being in Scottish football and we nearly got there.'
"I wouldn't rule them out, purely because of Tony Bloom and Jamestown Analytics.
"The players that have come in might take a little bit of time to get ready and settle in. But I wouldn't rule them out."
