Hearts are looking to back up their 4-0 victory over Dundee United on Sunday at Tynecastle with another performance against Benfica in the second leg of the third qualifying round in the Europa League in Gorgie on Thursday night (19.45).
Wouter Vrancken earned his first win as the club’s head coach last Sunday as he continues his restructuring of the squad and he believes his men took confidence from the home win.
He desperately wants to be competitive against the Portugal-based combine after last week’s 6-1 thrashing in Lisbon, but he has to be realistic and it is almost certain the Jambos will slip down into the Conference League after Thursday.
The Belgian told Hearts TV that his players continue to work hard, learning new things, and he added: “The next thing is you need some results.
“Sunday was a good start, but the way we did it is also nice to see.
“We need to keep the confidence there. I think you have to be realistic, of course, in the game (on Thursday) when you look at the result.
“The most important thing is to take a good feeling from Sunday towards this game and have a good performance.”
Meanwhile, Claudio Braga continues to be the centre of speculation over a move away from Tynecastle but Vrancken said that the player is “100 per cent committed” as long as he is at the club.
