Wouter Vrancken believes it would have been a mistake leaving Amadou Ba-Sy out of Hearts’ European squad after his performance against Rayo Vallecano.
The 25-year-old French striker was added to the Jambos’ Champions League squad ahead of Tuesday’s qualifying tie against Sturm Graz after scoring twice in Friday night’s 2-1 friendly win over the Spanish side at Tynecastle Park.
Jambos head coach Vrancken decided to replace winger Rogers Mato with Ba-Sy for the first leg of the second qualifier in Austria, and the Uganda international will also miss the return leg scheduled for Gorgie next week.
Belgian Vrancken, 47, who will give Harry Milne the captaincy, said: “I don’t think an explanation is necessary when you saw him in the Rayo game.
“I think when you play your first 45 minutes after a few weeks of training, and you have that much impact, it would be a mistake from my side, to leave him out.
“He had 45 (minutes), worked pretty well, actually. So we’ll see (on Tuesday), how many minutes we give him.
“We are as ready as possible. Everybody worked hard to be here and we give our best.
“They are a good team. A lot of intensity, a lot of pressure forward, physicality, and a few very good players.
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“A strong side but again, like we always do, (we’re) also looking for our own opportunities.
“And I think when we are good, when we find our game, that there are going to be opportunities for us to do something.”
Hearts will face Turkish side Fenerbahce or Gornik Zabrze from Poland in the third qualifying round of the Champions League if they get past Sturm Graz, and that would guarantee a league phase spot in the Europa League.
Should they fail to get past the Austrian side, the Jambos will face St Gallen from Switzerland or Portuguese giants Benfica in the third Europa League qualifier.
Vrancken knows the importance of the double-header and said: “It’s very important that you show guts from the start and don’t think about other qualifiers or next rounds or something like this.
“Just stay in a moment and go full and give everything on the pitch. Because when you start thinking too much about the next round or so, then you lose the focus a little bit.
“So the most important thing is to give it all on the pitch now and we’ll see what we get, and I’m convinced that when we give it all, we have a good chance.
“I think every player dreams of playing in the Champions League but also in Europe in general.
“If you can qualify already and know you’re guaranteed European games until the winter or into next year, it would be great.”
