IF Lewis Neilson had put Hearts in front early on against Celtic at Parkhead on Saturday when he got on the end of an Adam Forrester corner then maybe the final scoreline in the William Hill Premiership match would have been different.
If James Wilson had got his header on target later on in the first half when he rose and met a James Penrice cross in the opposition box, then perhaps the Tynecastle club could have salvaged a draw.
So it is impossible to say the positive 3-4-3 formation and game plan that Neil Critchley – who fielded Elton Kabangu, Lawrence Shankland and Wilson in his forward line – went with against Brendan Rodgers’ side at the weekend failed.
Critchley needed his players to convert the scoring chances which they created in the final third for Hearts to get a result in the East End of Glasgow they lacked, unfortunately for the travelling supporters, the ruthlessness required.
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But the success which the visitors, who were 3-0 down when they returned to their dressing room at half-time, enjoyed containing their hosts in the second half after a change to a 5-3-2 set-up begged a question?
Should they not have shut up shop from kick-off? Would Daizen Maeda and Jota have been able to net so effortlessly if they had adopted a more defensive approach for the full 90 minutes? Was being so offensive not naïve? Could the capital outfit not have travelled back home along the M8 with a point to show for their efforts if they had been more streetwise?
Critchley acknowledged that his men had done well to keep the scoreline respectable after he had tweaked things. He was, though, completely unrepentant about the instructions which he had given his players before they took to the field. He insisted that he will continue to try and entertain fans.
“I don't ever want us to be the team what we were in the second half,” he said. “Giving them half of the pitch? I don't enjoy that. I'd much rather see us go for the game. If it is sometimes a case of you live by the sword, you die by the sword, so be it.
“I don't think Hearts as a football club has ever been built on surrendering half the pitch, sitting behind the ball and hoping that we can get a breakaway or a set-piece to win the game.”
“Or do you just sit off them and give them half the pitch and know that they might beat you anyway? I just looked at loads of games and loads of different teams and how they'd done it.
“We took a midfield player out today and went with one more in the back line, but we still played with three forwards and wanted to have that attacking threat at the top end of the pitch.
“We carried a threat on the counter-attack a couple of times. It just didn't quite go our way, but I don't want the players to lose belief in who I want us to be.”
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Critchley, whose team remained in sixth spot in the Premiership table despite the 3-0 reverse they were on the receiving end of, is not the first coach who steadfastly refused to abandon his principles against large and wealthier opponents in order to scrape a result.
Will the Hearts supporters admire him or resent him for it? The Jambos who made the trip to Glasgow on Saturday would probably have preferred to see their heroes hold their rivals to a 0-0 draw than watch their rearguard getting breached three times.
At the same time, they will certainly have recognised the logic behind asking the likes of Wilson to get forward.
Maybe former Blackpool and Queens Park Rangers manager Critchley will, as Rodgers did after many years, soften his hardline stance if Hearts suffer more heavy losses and miss out on a European place or a top six spot by a narrow margin.
