Wouter Vrancken believes you could see the progression in his team during the 2-1 victory over Spanish-based, La Liga side, Rayo Vallecano, at Tynecastle.
However, he told the club’s success-hungry fans that his men are not there yet but argued that that is normal after only a few weeks of training with the Belgian.
Vrancken said: “You see the intentions are good and you see them (the players) doing things more naturally.”
It is always good, he declared, to secure a win as it brings confidence but he added: “Now it starts for real.”
That was a reference to the club’s trip to Austria to play Sturm Graz in their Champions Cup, qualifier, first-leg
The head coach added: “We wanted to show the players to the fans as much as possible, but the minutes were important but the technical stuff was also important.
“Every game is different, the Sturm Graz game is different, but seeing them (the players) doing things much better than two weeks ago is nice to see.”
Friday’s joust was, he said, a good test ahead of the Strum Graz game, and asked what pleased him most in the performance, he said: “The progression.”
Amadou Ba-Sy netted a double and Vrancken said that for an offensive player, an attacker, scoring goals is always important and he added: “It was good for the self-confidence and for him taking his first minutes and scoring goals is a nice way to enter into the club.”
Vrancken said he enjoyed his first taste of the Tynecastle experience and said: “The support of the fans, so close to the pitch, you felt every moment when we created chances, scored goals of the good defensive moments. It is a nice feeling.”
Asked if he was ready for the Champions League test he said: “Ready or not, we have to be there. We have to show the best of ourselves and it is not about progression, it is about results.
“It will be a difficult game because it is against a good team, but we have to put it all in there and try to qualify.”
MEDIA FOCUS: Wouter Vrancken meets the media. Picture Nigel Duncan
