Hearts defender Jamie McCart has described the scrutiny that comes with playing for a club of Hearts' size as a privilege, not a pain, after a difficult start to the season.
Difficult start to European campaign
McCart found himself at the centre of criticism following a 4-0 defeat away to Sturm Graz in Champions League qualifying. A fourth consecutive loss saw him substituted at half time in Lisbon as Benfica beat Hearts 6-1 in the Europa League qualifiers, shortly after a late collapse at Aberdeen added to the discontent.
Despite conceding 14 goals in four games, the 29-year-old has bounced back with three commanding performances in wins over Dundee United and Inverness, plus a draw against Benfica.
Scrutiny as a privilege
McCart said: "If you ask any sportsman, it's going to happen across all levels. You're never going to be good all the time and you're going to have the lows. And even more so when you're playing at a club like Hearts, there's high scrutiny on you, expectations. So it's a privilege to have that kind of scrutiny on you."
He added: "When you have the nights like that, you just want to get back out there and improve. You know, it was just a one-off in that you can show your best self. These games are the ones you want to play in. You want the best atmospheres, you want to play against the best players, the best teams."
Manager's faith and team recovery
McCart credited manager Wouter Vrancken for his support. "After the first few weeks, he had a meeting and just said, what I see is sometimes you can be more confident, be more yourself. We'd spoke about the ideal season and he just stressed, show your qualities, be positive."
Hearts now face Rapid Vienna in the Europa Conference League play-off, their last chance to extend their European campaign beyond August. McCart said: "It's always tough when you've been in two qualifiers and you've not managed to get the job done, albeit against tough opposition. We've just got to think about it as a one-off play-off."
Previous experience against Austrian opposition
McCart faced Austrian opposition before when Rapid's rivals LASK eliminated St Johnstone five years ago, with the tie ending 3-1 on aggregate after two red cards in the home leg. He said: "The home tie got away from us, didn't it? They showed their qualities in the end. But at this level that tends to happen. You can't switch off for any period of time."
He added: "Rapid are top of their league, three wins out of three. I think they had a really good result at the weekend. So, it'll be a really tough tie. Hopefully, as a team, we can draw on that experience from being smart in the game."
