Before the UEFA Conference League game, Neil Critchley gave a speech.
Defensor Adam Forrester is suspended, while captain Lawrence Shankland is back from suspension for Hearts’ pivotal UEFA Conference League match against Petrocub on Thursday night. The adolescent is not allowed to play in the encounter at Tynecastle Park because he has been given three yellow cards in the competition.
Beni Baningime, a key midfield player, has a remote chance of playing after suffering a knee injury, according to Hearts head coach Neil Critchley. Due to chronic injuries, Gerald Taylor, Calem Nieuwenhof, Stephen Kingsley, and Frankie Kent are all absent.
Shanks is eligible and will return, the Englishman declared. We’re obviously missing Kings and Frankie. In the past 24 to 48 hours, Beni has done some training. Whether or not we believe Beni is prepared to go and be included will determine that.
Musa [Drammeh] is ineligible, and Adam Forrester is clearly suspended. So there are two more. The team will be put to use. The next game is the most crucial one, so even if we have a busy time ahead of us, you can’t lose sight of it. And it’s clear that this is a crucial game.
Critchley grinned and gave a two-word response when asked how far away young players like Macaulay Tait and Callum Sandilands are from playing in this game. “Not far,” he stated.
With just one point thus far, Petrocub, the first Moldovan team to play Hearts, is already out from the competition and currently sits second-bottom in the 36-team Conference League. They don’t give up many goals and have a solid defensive record. They drew 1-1 away at Istanbul Basaksehir last month and lost 1-0 at home against Real Betis last week.
“Even though their league is obviously over, if you look at their last few performances and their results, they haven’t given up many goals in the league,” Critchley remarked. It’s difficult to play against them. They are difficult to dismantle. They have good coaching. They have a skilled coach who can obviously manipulate specific persons or regions in their system to make things tough for you.
“They enjoy having the ball.” They also enjoy playing. The crew includes several skilled technicians. Not that we’re underestimating them. Whether we’re playing at home or away, we treat everyone with the utmost respect. We continue to prepare for games in the same way. We are therefore ready as though we were playing Rangers, Celtic, or Copenhagen. It’s the same. yet always with the essential elements of our desired selves.
Critchley denied that Petrocub should be viewed as “minnows” as Hearts seek to set aside their home issues and concentrate on a significant European potential. “No. It is evident that you can look at their stance, consider their points, and undervalue them. “We won’t be doing that,” he emphasised. European football does not have any give-mes. There’s a reason they exist.
“If you look at their recent results, you can see that they have played tight, close games. It won’t happen if all we want is to show up, win, and knock them over. That is not how it will occur. Everything you acquire on the pitch must be earned. And we’ll have to push them to play the way we want. On the pitch, we must demonstrate that our cause is more important than theirs. Naturally, you want a fast start to energise the crowd and win everyone over.
Additionally, Thursday marks Hearts’ 100th European match. The team is currently at the basement of the Scottish Premiership following their 1-0 loss to 10-man Kilmarnock on Sunday. They would advance to the Conference League’s knockout round play-off and, for the first time in 35 years, continue their European run past Christmas if they defeated Petrocub, which would be a huge morale boost.
That’s good. I was unaware of that. “If we did that on the 100th appearance, it would make it a little bit sweeter,” Critchley added. “We can only concentrate on our business and the opposition we’re playing against. We have it in our hands right now. We will qualify if we win, which was undoubtedly the club’s goal before to entering the competition.
“We want to get to the later stages of a European tournament, where we have the chance to advance. We have a chance to accomplish that. We have control over it. Yesterday, we were going through every possible combination and scenario, but after about five minutes, we gave up and decided to focus only on trying to win the game.
“We have a really important period coming up with a lot of games in a short period of time, so if we do that, we can put that to rest for a few months and then look to improve our domestic form.” “How often do you get opportunities like this in your career?” I asked the players when we regrouped following the weekend’s match against Kilmarnock.
“They pass by so fast. Craig Gordon is probably thinking that it wasn’t long ago since he was eighteen and ready to begin his career, as I know you’ve spoken with him. These possibilities are fleeting and must not be missed. We have a fantastic opportunity to put the points on the board that we need to advance at home. After that, it provides us all with something to anticipate. I believe it will help everyone and give us a boost as we enter what will be a crucial game stretch for us in the league.
