Neil Critchley is coy over his transfer plans for the January transfer window but admitted that he would like his Heart of Midlothian squad to be more manageable. 

The Hearts head coach is only a few weeks away from his first window since taking over from Steven Naismith and will be able to lean on new sporting director Graeme Jones.

Jones, who was at Tynecastle Park for the Celtic game at the weekend, officially started his role on Monday having worked his notice at the Scottish FA, ending with Scotland's 2-1 win over Poland in the Nations League.

It should be noted that he has been working in the background to an extent, playing a key role in the appointment of Critchley.

"I've spoken to Graeme many times at length, whether that's on the phone or WhatsApp or face-to-face," Critchley said. "But also he's had his job to do as well and he's been busy with the last few international camps and he's been trying to be as respectful as possible of his position and his role.

"I've got so many things that I want to talk to him about and I'm sure that's the same for Graeme as well. I spoke to him Thursday but it's going to be good for me and the football club that he's now in full-time and I'll try not to bombard him with too much too soon."

Working with a sporting director above him is not new to Critchley and he understands how it can be beneficial as long as everyone is working off the same page.

"As long as you're aligned in the way that you think and you see the club moving forward you want to have a close relationship, a working relationship, a personal relationship where you have the honest, challenging, tough conversations," Critchley said.

"But also you know that you're there to support each other because ultimately we're all there for the same benefit which is to make this football club better and that's what I know Graeme's passionate about for his role and what he wants to do and myself similar. So I think that's a good starting point."

The short-term focus is likely to be making tweaks in January. It is widely accepted that the squad at Hearts is too big.

Critchley has had to leave first-team players out of every squad and it has made it more difficult to involve the club's younger talent. 

The Hearts head coach doesn't have a specific number of players he would like to sign but is of the view he won't necessarily have to move players on to bring others in even with the size of the squad.

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"I wouldn't put a figure on that," said. "I'd say we've got a big squad here at the moment so my problem at the moment is having to leave players out. That's been a tough thing. 

"January is a few weeks away but will we look to strengthen the squad? Possibly but also my focus at the moment is still working with the players inside the building, developing them, and helping them to understand how we want to play.

"January will take care of itself when we get there. I think we've got about 500 games before January."

He added: "You want a squad that's manageable, you want a squad that is competitive and I think it's important that they all feel as though the opportunity is there for them to play.

"We've also got to provide pathways for our younger players as well so just having the right amount of players is important and I say we'll see in January what happens ins and outs."