Before Devlin had even departed, there was a new head coach in charge. The process to appoint Vrancken was quick and initial signs were promising.
Here was a man who had been named Belgian coach of the year, had taken Racing Genk to within minutes of the title, and had been linked with Anderlecht and Burnley.
As well as a glowing CV, his previous style of play in Belgium was highlighted. It was not quite labelled all-out attack, but it was certainly going to be the style of football fans want to see.
Explaining his tactics in an early supporter forum, the man himself said he wanted “chaos within a structure”.
In his first match in charge it was mostly chaos, not so much structure.
However, the 4-0 scoreline does not feel truly reflective of the game itself. The attacking stats showed Hearts did not lag behind their Austrian hosts by any means.
They created two chances in the first half that should have been buried, but Pierre Landry Kabore shot straight at the keeper and Alexandros Kyziridis nudged his effort wide when one-on-one.
By the time it came to creating any more, they were already 4-0 down. Inefficient in attack, torn apart at the back. It was a nightmare beginning.
“Early impressions are that Hearts have got a really good head coach,” said Hearts Standard editor Joel Sked on a recent Scottish Football Podcast. “At the same time, just with everything that’s happened, there will have to be some patience.”
Patience is in short supply in football these days. For every Ange Postecolgou, there’s a Wilfried Nancy. For every Jens Berthel Askou, a Russell Martin.
It is too soon to tell in which camp Vrancken will fall, but for the most part, Hearts fans remain cautiously optimistic.
They’ve been through it all in the past two months, nothing can surprise them. Not even this.
