Wouter Vrancken has confirmed Hearts hero James Wilson is in contention to face Rapid Vienna, and revealed his squad have been practicing penalties in case the winner-takes-all Conference League playoff goes the distance. The Jambos boss, speaking in Vienna, knows his side need to be spot on in Austria to secure a £5m place in the league phase after last week's 2-2 draw in Edinburgh.
Wilson ready for first start in 12 months
Wilson could be handed his first start in 12 months after his 30-yard wonder-goal helped seal the first-leg draw at Tynecastle. Vrancken said: “Yes, for sure. This is the way you have to do it. I expect this from every player who starts on the bench and takes minutes, that they try to make the decision difficult for me.”
Hearts are in last chance saloon after crashing out of the Champions League and Europa League qualifiers with heavy defeats to Sturm Graz and Benfica. The Belgian boss added: “It is a massive game. I am looking forward to it. The support will be here in big numbers. We have to put it all out there to have a good result. We have one objective and that is getting through to the league phase.”
Penalty practice and team news
The tie will be played to an end, meaning spot kicks are a possibility. Asked if his side had practiced their penalties, Vrancken said: “We did, for a few weeks actually. The pressure for penalties is always different when you have to do it in such a moment. But again, we focus on 90 minutes, we want to make the best of it in 90 minutes, and we'll see how the game goes, and at the end of the game we'll see if we have to consider the extra time or not.”
Laurent Mendy is back available after three weeks out with a muscle injury, but fellow crock Harry Milne is not in the squad.
Shankland succession plan addressed
Meanwhile, Vrancken hopes he has found a number nine to fill the Lawrence Shankland void after Hearts confirmed JJ Williams as their 11th summer signing. The 6ft 4in frontman has signed a two-year deal after the Jambos shelled out £100,000 to Rhode Island for his services.
Asked what he would bring to his squad, Vrancken said: “Personality to begin with but he's also already 18 games or so in competition this season, and so he doesn't need physical adaptation anymore. He's a big guy and he has a good, big, open personality, so also leadership material. He can be a useful addition and also because of his understanding of football, he's a smart guy. I think he will pick up things really fast, and let's hope he can put the energy directly into the things we want, so yeah, really looking forward to that.”
Hearts are also trying to get a deal for 18-year-old Vikingur winger Aron Benjaminsen. Asked if he expected any more signings before the window shuts, Vrancken said: “We'll see. We don't have to put the pressure all on him of course when he comes in. We'll see which opportunities, and we're talking every day about things happening in the squad, or what we need, or who wants to go or not.”
