Frankie McAvoy anticipates a stern test against Norwegian side Rosenborg when Hearts meet them at the Lerkenstadion tomorrow.
The Jambos are in Trondheim on UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying business off the back of an opening day triumph over St. Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
Troillongan currently sit mid-table in the Eliteserien standings, with 18 matches of their league season under their belts – and our Head Coach knows a strong away showing will be required in the first leg of this European tie.
“It will be a tough game,” he told the media ahead of the match. “I think they are in a false position in the league. They are very quick and dynamic. They play a 4-3-3, a lot of movement. So, we’re expecting a really tough game.
“They are unbeaten in six, so that shows the form they’re in right now. But we have prepared the best we can coming here. We need to have a good structure out of possession and then with the ball we need to make sure we’re good enough going forward.
“What you can’t do is get yourself too hyped up with the occasion. It’s a big game. There is no doubt about that. We have set a few aims for ourselves to try and qualify for the group-stages.
“We have a tough opponent tomorrow, but we will do our utmost to do our best here and take a good positive result back to a full house at Tynecastle, which can be a daunting task for anyone.”
Ongoing paperwork means Hearts will be without the services of Kyosuke Tagawa, Calem Nieuwenhof and Kenneth Vargas in Trondheim tomorrow – but Frankie was also able to offer some positive team news.
“We have been happy with them (Boyce and Baningime) through pre-season, and they are up for selection tomorrow.
“This is our second competitive game, whereas Rosenborg are halfway through their season, so in terms of match sharpness they are probably ahead of us, but there is no reason why we can’t come here and do extremely well.”
