Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken has said his side will need a complete team effort to nullify Mohamed Salah and Trabzonspor in the Conference League, warning that the Turkish club's entire squad is world class.
The Jambos travel to Papara Park on the back of a heavy 7-0 defeat to Celtic at the weekend, and now face a Trabzonspor side boasting the attacking talents of the former Liverpool and Egypt forward.
Vrancken insists on collective approach
Speaking ahead of the match, Vrancken stressed that focusing solely on Salah would be a mistake.
“For sure, it has to be a team effort. You cannot only focus on Salah because he is not the only one with quality, they will have 11 quality players on the pitch. Yes, Salah is a world class player,” the Belgian said.
“We will try and do something to nullify him, so he won’t stick out easily. At the same time we need to believe in what we are doing. We have done it in the past in games where we have shown a real team effort in tough environments and that will be necessary again tomorrow.”
Trabzonspor rated at European top level
Hearts have already faced Benfica in the Europa League qualifiers, and Vrancken believes Trabzonspor are at the same level and a cut above anything they would face in Scotland.
“The quality in this team tomorrow is European top level. You also see their results. They beat Galatasaray 4-0 without a problem,” he warned.
“So that shows they are a top team and a top team in Europe. They are a really good side. Every team has its strengths and weaknesses, as always. We have analysed them as well as we can.”
He added: “They are a strong and complete team, especially since the new manager has come in. They have had a really good run of results and scored a lot of goals. They have a lot of individuals who can decide a game, not only Salah. They have a lot of potential, like Benfica, who we played previously.”
Hearts look to bounce back from Celtic collapse
Vrancken and his team came under fire for their performance against Celtic, and the head coach has insisted they will not abandon their principles, though they need to be stronger defensively across the team.
“We have principles in the block and press. It is always the same. We didn’t do well enough against Celtic,” he stated.
“Our defensive play against Celtic wasn't good enough and neither was our quality on the ball. When you lose the ball too easily and there is no back-up, you are totally exposed at the back.”
The Hearts squad has arrived in Trabzon in positive mood, and Vrancken is confident they have put the Celtic result behind them.
“They were very disappointed,” the head coach confirmed. “When you lose a game you need to get over the emotions. When you are in this run of games you need to work on this. After a game like this you have two nights to get over it and then you have to bring back the energy for the next game.”
Team news and injury update
Hearts will be without injured pair Oisin McEntee and Stuart Findlay, who have remained in Edinburgh.
Vrancken confirmed: “A couple of players stayed at home. Oisin and Stuart.
“His (McEntee) was in the game the other day. It was his calf so we need to see day by day. Stu was his groin. He injured it yesterday in training. We will have to see how long he is out but we are hopeful it will just be days.”
