Wouter Vrancken insists Hearts are facing Premiership quality in Stenhousemuir as they try to book a Premier Sports Cup semi-final spot.
The Jambos boss believes the Championship table toppers are on a par with some of what the top flight has to offer when they face the Warriors at Ochilview.
Vrancken praises Bartley's shock troops
Vrancken was full of praise for Marvin Bartley’s shock troops who delivered an extra-time win over Motherwell in the previous round and believes his players won’t come a cropper as they’ve been well warned about what’s coming their way.
He said: “They are top of the Championship for a reason, it hasn’t just fallen out of the air or is down to luck.
“They do good things, play with a lot of energy and are very stable in their organisation.
“The way they are organised, the way they press and put their block in key moments, they are maybe better than some Premiership teams. They have a lot of quality and team effort.
“I have watched their games and, of course, it is always dangerous. Cup games are always different, they have nothing to lose and we have everything to lose.
“It’s never easy, they beat Motherwell and the game is at their home stadium.”
No excuses over plastic pitch
The Belgian is also aware of the dangers of the Ochilview plastic pitch and he’s adamant his team have been prepped to be mentally ready to cope with a surface he knows well from his time coaching in his homeland.
He’ll accept no excuses if they don’t progress to the last four at Hampden.
He said: “I have seen it and know about the astro, but my old club St Truiden played on that surface.
“So we will tell the players about it but there are no excuses. It’s all about preparation, mentally and physically – you have to prepare so you go there with energy.
“With excuses you have to challenge them and conquer them, so I don’t want to hear anyone making them.”
Hearts' cup ambitions
Hearts are on a three-game winning run and Vrancken is convinced a semi-final appearance at the national stadium would be a tonic for the start of his Tynecastle reign but he’s also learned not to look too far ahead.
He said: “It would mean a lot to get to Hampden, of course.
“In a competition like a cup, then you always want to try to get as far as possible. And when you can play in the national stadium, it’s always a good experience and something to look forward to.
“But I don’t look forward like this too fast, because I’m always like... in Belgium, we say when you look too far ahead, then you stumble on the things in front of your feet.
“It can be like a little stone or just a carpet you can stumble on.
“But when you look in front of your feet and you step over the stone, you step on the carpet like this and you keep stepping and you get over those little things, then you will get where you have to be. So I’m more like this kind of person.”
Magnusson ready for Ochilview test
Hearts are confronting a midfield headache after the loss of Tom Renaud and Blair Spittal for an extended period but Tomas Magnusson is ready to step into the breach and he is bracing himself for a trip to Ochilview with an admission he’s performed in less glamorous venues in the past.
He said: “They’ll be hard to beat. We’ve seen they are a strong, disciplined team defensively so it will be a challenge.
“They got a result there against Motherwell and they’re on top of the Championship.
“Astroturf isn’t everyone’s preference, but everyone’s played on astro, I think.
“We’ve got a lot of foreigners, so we maybe don’t know what we’re heading into, which is good.
“But at the end of the day, you can’t make excuses, it’s just a game of football.
“Myself, I’ve played in some s*** places back home, not huge stadiums. I think a lot of the boys as well, we come from lower leagues, so probably everyone has played, not in a time capsule, so everyone should be up for it.
“That is part of the cups, it is good going to other places – but they had such a good result there in the last round, we can’t let that happen again. It would do a lot for me, personally.
“I need to get a cup under my belt so it would be good if we get that win and play at Hampden.
“We want to win a cup. We went so close in the league last season, 10 minutes or so, so getting a cup as soon as possible would obviously be good for the club and the fans.
“We owe it to ourselves and to the supporters to have a good run in the cups because we got knocked out in the first games of last season.”
