Blair Spittal on the Hearts positive he would've taken at the start of the season

Hearts midfielder Blair Spittal sees plenty of positives for Jambos to reflect on during an "important" international break.

New head coach Neil Critchley, who joined the club in mid-October, has not had a lot of time to work with the squad on the training pitch given their hectic schedule. The former Blackpool gaffer has previously said players are “learning on the job” as he tries to implement his methods, with the club currently sitting 11th in the top flight, just one point above city rivals Hibernian.

Despite this, they have started relatively well in the Conference League, sitting 12th with six points, but suffered back-to-back defeats heading into the break against Heidenheim and Rangers. However, the former Motherwell man believes there are positives to take from the first month under the new boss

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He said: "Given the three games we've had so far in the Conference League if you'd offered us six points, we'd have taken it. When you have the opportunity to go three wins from three, and the performance is there and you don't get the points, it's disappointing. But we need to look at the positives and take them.

"It's something you always want to do, growing up and playing against top teams, Heidenheim were that. They were a bit of the unknown, given their journey and where they have come from. They are a really good team that take you into parts of the pitch they know can hurt you.

"But at the same time, it's good to test yourself against these sorts of teams you don't play against every week. They are a top side, but we've got to learn from it."

Now, with the international break giving him a fortnight with the players, Spittal believes his teammates will take full advantage of this break.

He said: "The international break is important. We haven't had a lot of time on the training pitch. We've had small chances from game to game to get wee bits of ideas from the gaffer. But it will be weird when we come back in terms of that Saturday-to-Saturday build-up. The gaffer doesn't want to overload us too much, but it's been a good start.

"I've enjoyed working under him so far. It's all about how we can hurt the opposition. You need to take care of them in terms of off the ball, but it's all about being on the front foot, being aggressive."