Head coach Wouter Vrancken believes his Hearts side are as ready as they can be, ahead of tomorrow’s UEFA Champions League second qualifying round first leg against Sturm Graz.
The Jambos travelled to Austria’s second largest city for the first leg in the Merkur Arena on Tuesday night, before the return leg in Gorgie a week later.
The match will serve as the Jambos’ first competitive game of the new season, but the new boss doesn’t have any concerns about his side’s readiness.
Speaking to the media at the pre-match press conference in Graz, Vrancken said:
“We’re as ready as possible. I think everybody worked hard to come here; to be here and now we need to give our best tomorrow.
“I think it's very important that you show guts from the start and don't think about other qualifiers or next rounds or something like this.
“Just stay in the moment and go full and give everything on the pitch. Because when you start thinking too much about the next round, then you lose the focus a little bit. So, I think it's most important to give it all on the pitch now and then we give our best and we'll see what we get. I'm convinced that when we give it all, we have a good chance.”
In Sturm Graz, Hearts face the Austrian runners up and while acknowledging the challenges they will pose, Vrancken insists that if the Jambos reach their levels, they too will have opportunities.
“They’re a good team, with a lot of intensity, a lot of pressure forward, some physicality and a few very good players. Strong side, but again, like always, we do the analysis, also looking for our own opportunities and I think when we are good, when we find our game, that there are going to be opportunities for us to do something.
“The pressure is always there with them in every game they play so we can expect that. And it's about us, when we have the quality on the ball, then we can do good things, and we don't have to put ourselves in trouble. But again, we know what's coming and it's on us to find the solutions and to show the quality from the start.”
When asked if he had a message for the travelling 1,350 Jambos who have sold out the away end at the Merkur Arena, the head coach responded: “I don't think I need to give them a message.
“I think when you saw them react in the friendly against Rayo, then you feel a little bit of synergy that you can get when you perform well on the pitch and the fans go behind the team and we have to do the same tomorrow. We have to be there from the first minute showing how we want to fight for our colours and the fans for sure will be behind us. It's just incredible, amazing to see how many people will come here to support us.”
You can watch Wouter and Harry Milne’s press conferences on Hearts TV.
