Malachi Fagan-Walcott has admitted that swapping York City for Hearts and the Conference League has been a shock to the system, but the 24-year-old centre half is loving every minute of it. He will step out at the Visana Stadium against Swiss champions Thun on Thursday evening, having been part of a York team that beat Gateshead 4-0 this time last year.
From Braintree to European nights
Fagan-Walcott said: "I've had those conversations with my brothers and so of my ex-teammates. It is crazy and has happened fast, but you just need to take it all."
He added: "My first game against Sturm Graz (the Champions League qualifiers), you look at that, you come out in the warm-up and see the crowd and I was thinking I was at Braintree a couple of years ago. It is reality check and it is good."
Having grown up at the Tottenham Academy, Fagan-Walcott described playing in Europe as "a dream come true" and "one of the biggest stages of football". He said: "As a child you want to get to this level because it is the ultimate - playing in the group stages of Europe. For me, this is the top of my list and I am excited to play as many games as I can."
Culture shock and injury challenges
Hearts opened their group campaign with a draw at home to Nordsjaelland and then lost 2-0 away to Trabzonspor. Fagan-Walcott admitted the whole European adventure has been a culture shock, particularly the travelling and the fans.
He said: "Going to Turkey was different. I have never experienced anything like that. It was similar to Vienna at home but going from York to Tynecastle is different. There are more fans. As a whole this season has been about getting used to playing in front of 20,000 odd fans, compared to 10,000 or 6,000, which I used to play in front of."
With 10 players unavailable for the Thun game, Fagan-Walcott said it is up to those who are fit to give the injured players hope and motivation. He stated: "It is tough but it is tough for them I would say you just have to look towards the next game. It is tough losing players to injuries. But as one of the boys who are fit we can't let that affect us on the pitch."
Moving on from semi-final defeat
Hearts have also had to recover from losing Sunday's Premier Sports Cup semi-final to local rivals Hibs. The defender insisted the sulking is over and the team is ready to move on.
He said: "That's football. You have games where you go in looking to win and you don't get the result. You just need to move on. The boys have got used to the schedule. The recovery we have is good. You can have a sulk that night but then you need to look to the next one."
Fagan-Walcott also feels he is getting used to the hectic schedule and the step up in quality. He said: "It is the same in both leagues. You get punished if you make mistakes so don't make them. Everyone makes mistakes but you can't afford to. Whoever we are playing in the league and cup the levels get higher and mistakes get punished."
He added: "It has been different (under Vrancken). Every manager plays different systems. I am getting used to the manager's system, which is different. It is up the levels. There are people where you come in and train with us and the quality is at a high level. People who will see passes that you would have got away with at York. It is just getting up to speed to that and learning that you can't afford not to track a run. I could get away with that at York because the player didn't have the quality to play it, but now you need to be switched on at all times. That one lapse and the ball could end up in your net. You have to stay switched on - that is the main thing."
