Hearts travel to the Estadio de Luz for the first leg of their Europa League play-off against Benfica, with Laurent Mendy convinced they can cause an upset. The Jambos have lost home and away to Sturm Graz in the Champions League and suffered a late 2-1 defeat at Aberdeen, but Mendy believes a fresh European night can spark a turnaround.
Asked if they can upset the odds, Mendy said: “Yes, 100 per cent. I’m optimistic with everything. I know we can. As long as we don't concede, we score, we win the game, and that's going to be the plan. I take it game-by-game, whoever we play. I just tell the lads that it's another game of football, really and truly. Obviously, they're a big team compared to others, but we're still going to play our game, the way we want to play, the way the gaffer wants to play, and give it a go.”
A dream move from the National League
The 29-year-old insisted it is a dream to be swapping the National League for the Europa League. “It's a dream come true, it's an answered prayer that I've always prayed for, so now that I have the opportunity to do it, it's literally a blessing,” he said.
Mendy, a recent signing from Forest Green Rovers, also believes Hearts are destined for big things under new boss Wouter Vrancken. “Yes, 100 per cent. We're learning, we're a new group. We’re also learning a new way of playing through the gaffer, so it's going to take a bit of time. I’m sure that we're definitely going to do well, 100 per cent,” he said.
Shock at Hearts interest
Mendy admitted he was shocked when he heard Hearts wanted to sign him. The midfielder was flagged up by Jamestown Analytics after standing out in the non-leagues with Macclesfield and Forest Green Rovers.
“At first I was shocked. I was surprised when I heard, because to be honest, I didn't know about the Scottish League that much, because I don't really watch football. I only knew about Celtic and Rangers, but just by names. So I went to check who Hearts was and stuff like that, and when I saw that they were first in the table and stuff, I was like, oh wow. So I started tapping into it, looking at YouTube videos and all sorts. It was a shock, but I knew my ability, so I wasn't, at the same time, shocked because I knew that I worked hard. I had a long journey, but I knew that I was going to get there at one point and God made it happen,” he said.
Mendy was forced to train himself as he waited for Hearts to get a deal over the line. He explained: “Obviously the two clubs were in talks, trying to agree something at the time, so I trained on my own with a one-to-one coach. I was waiting for the deal to be done and then once it was done, I came straight away.”
Hard debut to forget
Mendy made his Hearts debut at Aberdeen but was substituted before the Dons struck twice to win 2-1. He said: “It was painful to turn the game like this, you know, after we've done well throughout the game, especially second half, in both boxes, defensively and stuff. Conceding two goals like this, it's always going to hurt, but we just take it, learn from it and then continue the next game. Yes, probably a bit naive at times. We could have probably controlled the game a bit more instead of trying to score the second goal. But like I said, you're just going to learn from it and do differently in the next game.”
Despite the result, Mendy was pleased to get his first minutes in Scottish football. “I’m absolutely buzzing,” he said. “I was happy even to hear that I was going to start today. I’ve been waiting for that moment for a very long time, so it was a blessing to play today. I had to get used to the first half, the tempo, the way the players are playing, what the manager wants from me, but I think in the second half I got to the groove of it. It was more to stay in the middle and protect the back four, and also sometimes get on the ball and then be that pivot to get on the ball and switch the play and stuff like that. At first it was a bit tough because I was just running everywhere. Then he told me to stay in the middle and in the second half that's when I got into the groove of it.”
Defender MJ Kamson-Kamara has replaced the injured Malachi Fagan-Walcott in Hearts' European squad.
