Four wins in a row, but can it only get better for Hearts?

The arrival of Jamestown Analytics to Scottish football has split opinion. You're either a fully-paid up, laptop-toting devotee, or a data-denying dinosaur.The fact of the matter is that Hearts were within minutes of their first league title in 60 years last season and are now sitting second after five matches, despite a summer of "doom and gloom" in Gorgie, according to Preston.That was after head coach Derek McInnes, captain Lawrence Shankland, fan-favourite Cammy Devlin and even vaunted set-piece coach Ross Grant all departed in the wake of the final-day defeat by Celtic."The new manager comes in, with difficult Champions League games, and virtually a whole new team," said Preston. "It took time to settle."A lot of people made a judgement early on, but they've been proven wrong. The manager has been really good, his substitutions have been wonderful. "This team will only get better, but the main thing is patience. They were so far ahead of where they wanted to be last season. It'll take three or four or five years to get to where they want to be."In my opinion, I think it will work. It's working everywhere else, why won't it work at Hearts?"Laurent Mendy started in the North West Counties League Premier Division with Macclesfield, moved to the National League with Forest Green Rovers, and has now replaced Beni Baningime seamlessly in the Hearts midfield.Tom Renaud, signed from the third division in France, started brightly and scored against Benfica and Dundee United before an ankle injury halted his progress.Alexandros Kyziridis departed, sold for good money to Turkey. In stepped Josh McPake, who was playing League One football with Stirling Albion two years ago. He's now in such fine form, a Scotland call-up has been talked about.Calvin Miller is another who has fitted in well, with four goals already in maroon. Go back to early 2024, he too was in League One with Falkirk.The goals of Shankland have been harder to replace, but Hearts have looked inward for that. James Wilson barely got a look-in under McInnes and spent the second-half of last season with Tottenham Hotspur's academy side.Now, he has four goals in his last six games and could add to his solitary Scotland cap this autumn. The main thing, of course, is that the head coach has been replaced with very little fuss. It took Hearts a little over a week to appoint Wouter Vrancken after McInnes' departure.He is getting the best out of members of the squad who played bit-part roles last season, with Blair Spittal going from impact sub to captain in the space of a few months.As for the 'Jamestown players', the story goes that when sporting director Graeme Jones spoke to his USG counterparts, he was told new players needed six months to bed in.Kerjota, whose winner against Dundee was his first goal for the club, has finally settled and is pushing for a starting spot.Winger Rogers Mato, who joined in January but only played once last season, is another who seems to be a real threat off the bench.Tomas Magnusson, a midfielder signed for around £35,000 last season, attracted interest over the summer and has seen his value sky-rocket in the year he has spent at the club.That does not mean there won't be players who struggle. Sander Kartum has already moved on for free, Elton Kabangu has not made a matchday squad this season, and record signing Ageu has managed just seven appearances.But there's been far more hits than misses, and new Vrancken certainly goes into the camp of the former."You don't come to watch clean sheets, you come to watch goals, and one thing you're going to get with Hearts is goal at both ends," Preston added."I like the way [Vrancken] speaks. He's captured the imagination of the fans, and they're thoroughly behind him after a difficult opening. It's great entertainment."