Hearts hope to avoid a European exit before they play RFS - but the club are already planning a Continental return

A point in Italy against Fiorentina and a draw with Istanbul Basaksehir in Riga proves RFS can hustle far more illustrious opponents. Visiting Tynecastle Park is the next challenge in the Latvian champions’ crusade to upset every team in Europa Conference League Group A.

Hearts are the only side they haven’t taken points from in the section following last month’s 2-0 victory for the Edinburgh club in the Skonto Stadium. Thursday’s rematch gives the giant and physically imposing Latvians a chance to prove they can deliver another of those gritty displays produced against Pot 1 and Pot 2 clubs. For the hosts, there is inherent danger surrounding this tie.

Both teams could, of course, already be out of the tournament before they take the field if Fiorentina manage to beat group leaders Istanbul Basaksehir at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the 5.45pm kick-off. Any other outcome leaves Hearts and RFS requiring a result to keep slender hopes of qualification for the knockout stage alive, with the final round of matches to come next week.

Hearts’ domestic and European form amounts to three wins in the last 15 games but they will rightly derive confidence from that result in Latvia. RFS struck the goalframe and forced Craig Gordon into two vital saves before Lawrence Shankland’s penalty and Alan Forrest’s late strike earned the away side their only group points to date.

“There are a lot of ifs and buts but it's outwith our control. There is no point wasting energy on it,” said Robbie Neilson, the Hearts manager. “Against Fiorentina and Istanbul, RFS sat in defensively. Tomorrow they need a result to have any chance of qualifying, so it's whether they change their style. They play a different formation in league games. They play 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 but in Europe they have been playing a 3-4-3. It's whether they go back to the European formation that is a lot more defensive or whether they play the way they have been playing in the league, which has brought them success there.

“Whenever you play at Tynecastle, whether it's a European game, a league game or a cup game, you need to go and try to win it. This is an opportunity to do that. We got a great result over there against RFS and we hope to do the same tomorrow night. We won over there so that brings the belief that we can beat them and win games in Europe. This campaign was always about learning what it is like – learning what it is like when you go to these places. We are at Tynecastle and we would expect to win the game. That’s what we hope to do.”

That would earn the club a tidy £430,000 in UEFA prize money, although Neilson is more concerned about on-field matters. The Conference League experience has placed enormous strain and demand on his squad in between a congested period of domestic matches before World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Hearts won’t complain, for this is the kind of intensity they worked for throughout last season. Learning how to handle it is the challenge.

“The financial side of it is huge when you go into Europe and we know that is the case again tomorrow night,” said the manager. “Ultimately, it is about performance first. We have to make sure we perform well to give ourselves a chance of winning. If we do that then the finances will come for the club. This experience has been great for us all. For the players, the staff, the club, the fans, everyone involved in these games. It is something we want to do continually and we need to make sure our league form improves to make sure we get the chance to come back again.”

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson is preparing his team to face RFS on Thursday.

Whatever has been learned, it will all be included in a post-tournament debrief once it’s all finished. “To be honest, I could sit here and list things all day [that have been learned],” said Neilson. “We will have a sit down once the campaign is over, in that World Cup break, and go over it as a group, as a staff, and we will see what we need to do better, what we need to do well – so the next time we get in we can try to improve again.”

Players are of a similar mindset. There is no point striving to qualify for European group-stage football through an entire season – as Hearts did last year – only to bemoan the reality of it. “We’ve got no victim mentality,” said winger Josh Ginnelly. “We’re a good side and we know if we’re on it we can match most teams we play against, if not better them. You saw on Saturday [against Celtic] we probably had the better of the game and should have walked away with something. They’re playing in the Champions League and playing against Real Madrid and we went toe-to-toe – if not played better than them.

“We might be the favourites in this game but we’re not really listening to any of that. We’ve got to go out there and perform. We’ll need the fans behind us – and I have no doubt they will be. As a team and the belief within the group, we have had some bad results here, but the belief is still there and we are still all pulling in the right direction. It's just all about having that relentlessness to keep going.

“Our fans play a big part in what we do. A lot of our frustration has been down to us wanting to get a result for them. Humps [Stephen Humphrys] scoring in that game in Florence, and I don't know what the score was in the game, but it was massive. We want to get Tynecastle rocking and try to put on a show for them as some of the results have been tough.”