Elton Kabangu has told his Hearts team-mates they won’t be disappointed with Wouter Vrancken as their new head coach, writes Scott Burns from Spain. The winger came up against his new boss in the Belgian Pro-League in recent times.
Kabangu had two years at Union Saint-Gilloise and during that time Vrancken had spells with Genk and Gent. The 47-year-old has a proven track record. He won the Belgian Cup with Mechelen and went close in the title race with Genk and Sint Truiden.
Players in the Dark Initially
Blair Spittal explained: “To be honest nobody really knew much about the manager. I think Elton came across him when he was in Belgium and he had nothing but good things to say about him. It’s all change but sometimes change is good. So we’re looking forward to what the gaffer’s going to implement and stuff.
“We have been in doing testing and in the next couple of days it’s all about him getting his ideas across to the squad. Everybody’s really open to new ideas. So we’re looking forward to it.”
The Hearts squad is currently in Alicante as Vrancken gets his new team ready for their Champions League qualifier against Sturm Graz.
Confidence in Vrancken's Methods
The rest of the Jambos squad has now had an early insight into what he will demand and Spittal is confident they can kick on again. “There’s all kinds of evidence there that the clubs he’s been at have done really well,” the midfielder insisted.
“The club he was at last year has a similar story to us in terms of what we’re achieving and probably in terms of what we’re expected of at the start of the season. We’re just really looking forward to getting to work.
“He’s not got a lot of time in terms of getting too much information across to us. That’s the key point. As much as we’re going to be working on a lot of things, it needs time at the same time to get to our final destination where he wants us to go.”
Transition and New Signings
The Jambos have been on a rollercoaster ride since they lost the title to Celtic on the last day. Captain Lawrence Shankland exercised a release clause to join Rangers and was quickly joined at Ibrox by Hearts boss Derek McInnes.
“I think that’s just part and parcel of football now,” Spittal added. “A couple of the boys were talking about it the other day. To be honest in terms of the length of time you spend with a manager now, it’s getting less and less in terms of managers doing well.
“When things aren’t going well, it’s pretty ruthless in terms of football. It’s just another chance to get in and impress a new manager. We’ll be looking to do that. There’s a good group of boys.
“Obviously, a few have left. A core of the Scottish or British-based boys have left the club. It’s vital that the guys who have been here the last couple of years help the new boys settle in and help reinforce the gaffer’s message.”
Spittal's Personal Struggles
Losing the title was, arguably, the biggest blow. Hearts had led the race for the majority of the season, before they were pipped at the post. Spittal admitted he hardly left the house for a fortnight after that.
He confirmed: “To be fair I never headed out. I had two weeks before I went away on holiday. I never really did anything. I was just in the house. I’ve kept busy. I’ve got my wee one so he’s two and a half so I was kept busy with that.
“He helped take the mind off everything as you would expect. Once we got out it was only a week I was away for but it was a time well spent with the family.”
New Faces and Fresh Start
It is now about Vrancken settling things down and ensuring Hearts’ title charge wasn’t a flash in the pan. Vrancken has a number of new players to gel into his squad. The likes of Calvin Miller, Josh McPake, MJ Kamson Camara, Tom Renaud, Malachi Fagan-Walcott, Sabri Guendouz, Cormac Daly and Amadou Ba-Sy have all been signed this summer. Striker Ba-Sy has missed this trip.
Spittal has been impressed. He said: “I think you can see that as well, their quality in training so far. We’ve only had a couple of sessions but they’ll be looking to hit the ground running as well.”
The ex-Motherwell player was in and out of the team last season, although he cemented his place in the final few weeks. He added: “I was obviously frustrated at points last season in terms of game time but when the boys are doing well and the previous manager had found a settled team, it was hard to get in when the boys are performing so well.
“Towards the end of the season when the pressure was on, I felt like I’d performed well. The season probably ended at the wrong time for me in terms of hitting a bit of momentum.
“It’s been a good summer for me in terms of getting a chance to chill out and make sure I’m ready to hit the ground running pre-season. That’s the aim, just to be ready for that first competitive game, that’s the objective to hopefully be in the gaffer’s thoughts.”
