Steven Naismith plots Hearts scouting mission on Europa League foes as 2 things come with continental exposure
Steven Naismith says Hearts will understand the demands of European action with constant participation in continental competition – as he hopes to have both possible opponents watched.
The Tynecastle side learned on Monday that their challenges in the Europa League start with a clash against Czech side Viktoria Plzen or Ukrainian outfit Kryvbas. Plzen are likely favourites in the third round qualifier and would pose strong opposition for Hearts at the play-off phase, having placed as Europa Conference League quarter-finalists last season.
Kryvbas will be keen to make their mark in Europe though after finishing third in the Ukrainian top flight. The winner of the play-off tie will feature in the league phase of the Europa League, while the loser drops into the Europa Conference League equivalent.
Naismith says work will be done to get players up to speed with what is to come, but juggling the calendar between European action and domestic clashes will also be at the forefront of his mind. He told Hearts TV: “It’s two different teams. Last year Plzen did really well, they’ve been in the Champions League recently.
“They have the experience. Kryvbas are probably less known, we know little about them. They will be tough games. We’ll do all we can to research them and put a game plan together to get through the tie. There is an excitement because you work so hard to get the draw and now we know it, we are happy with it and we’ll see if we get through it.
“The more you are in it, the more comfortable you are, the more you understand the demand. The more time you can get in European competition, the better it is going to be. The European games are the ones everybody is up for as they are different, it’s midweek, full houses, travel in the away game, it’s all a bit different. The intrigue is there. It’s the following fixtures that are the ones we really to identify that we need to be on it.”
Naismith also confirms that if the opportunity to watch their opponents appears, it’s one Hearts will take. He added: “We watch as much as we can and research on the style of what they like to do, their individual players, if we can go and watch them, we will get them watched.
“We have the next round tie to go so we will get a look at the teams in that but we will want to do a bit more than that. Every game is different and we will plan like we do for every game.”
