Claudio Braga expressed his delight at being back at Tynecastle, to feel the environment, even though the 18,000-capacity arena was not full.
In fact, more than 14,000 fans were there to witness the 2-1 victory over Madrid-based Rayo Vallecano with a double from Amadeu Ba-Sy making the difference.
The striker missed the trip to Spain for the pre-season training camp, but Braga felt good playing alongside him.
The Portugal-born forward said: “I was really happy for him (Ba-Sy) that he scored the two goals. For any striker, it is good to score goals and he had a tough start and it is good for him to start building.
“The more guys we have with confidence the better.”
Braga (pictured in training by Nigel Duncan) said the test of playing a foreign side was really important with Tuesday’s Champions League qualifier, first-leg, due in Austria against Sturm Graz.
And reflecting on the pre-season games so far, he told Hearts TV: “I think we had a good pre-season and we had some good results. The games gave a lot of players a chance to get some minutes (on the pitch).
“It feels good to play more time on the pitch and, at the same time, I feel good.”
Asked about the work the players have been doing with the club’s new head coach, Wouter Vrancken, Braga, last season’s Player of the Year in Scotland, said things have been good and he added: “The most important thing is that we are trying to take his message and put it onto the pitch.
“The players are happy and we are trying new ideas and we are showing good playing this way.”
Looking at their Champions League opponents, Strum Graz, he said the mood in the camp is good and he said: “There are a lot of new guys in the squad and the banter is good in the dressing-room.
”On the pitch, everybody can push for everybody and that is the most important thing. Everybody feels part of the team even though we have a lot of new players. We have to make sure everybody is on the same way and pushing forward.”
