Wouter Vrancken believes Hearts have taken a lot of confidence from Sunday’s victory over Dundee United, as they prepare for their Europa League Third Qualifying Round second leg against Benfica.
The Jambos got their season up and running in dominant fashion, with a 4-0 victory at Tynecastle, thanks to goals from Tom Renaud, Calvin Miller, Claudio Braga and Josh McPake.
The games continue to come thick and fast for Vrancken’s side, with Benfica arriving in Gorgie, prior to Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup tie at home to Inverness.
The head coach acknowledged the importance of that result and is now keen to keep the momentum going with another good performance and result on Thursday evening.
Speaking to the media at the pre-match press conference, he said:
“Especially the confidence part. I think, like we said already a few times during the past weeks, the players are working really hard, trying to learn new things, being open to it, coachable, all those things. So, the next thing is you need some results.
“Sunday was a good start and the way it happened, not only the result, but the way we did it, is also nice to see and it's also good for the fans to see that it works.
“We need to keep the confidence there. I think you have to be realistic, of course, in the game tomorrow when you look at the result. But I think the most important thing, is to take a good feeling from Sunday towards this game and to have a good performance tomorrow, against a side like Benfica, take some confidence about your performance towards the next.”
You can watch Wouter’s press conference in full on Hearts TV.
