Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken has attributed his team's Champions League exit to a deficit in preparation time, following their 2-0 home defeat to Sturm Graz on Tuesday, which sealed a 6-0 aggregate loss in the second qualifying round.
Despite the aggregate defeat, Vrancken insisted that the team cannot use their limited preparation as an excuse heading into their Premiership opener against Aberdeen. "We have to go step by step, but we cannot wait until we are physically top, top to make results," Vrancken stated. "Within our physical preparation and the steps we have to make, we have to take the results and go into the games and hopefully finish it."
The manager acknowledged that the first half against Sturm Graz showed promise, with significant intensity and energy aimed at scoring. However, he noted a dip in performance around the 60-minute mark in both matches, which he believes highlighted the physical conditioning gap. Sturm Graz had completed six weeks of preparation, while Hearts had only three.
"You have to be ready for every moment at this level," Vrancken said. "When you see both games, we were really good until the moment you physically can’t bring it any more the way you want to do it. Goals go together with the physical preparation. When you are physically top, top, you are clear in the head and make the better decisions in those final moments."
Vrancken absolved his players of blame, emphasizing that the issue is not a lack of quality but rather the need to progress following a short preparation period. Winger Alexandros Kyziridis and defender Stephen Kingsley both sustained injuries during the match, with Vrancken expressing concern, particularly for Kingsley, who was removed early in the second half.
Hearths will now compete in a Europa League qualifier next week, facing either Benfica or St Gallen.