Austrian side host the Tynecastle club in massive UEFA play-off

Hearts arrived in Vienna on Tuesday evening with a full 22-man European squad, including fit-again midfielder Laurent Mendy. A muscle strain has kept the Frenchman sidelined since the opening Scottish Premiership weekend at the start of the month, but he could feature against Rapid Vienna in the Allianz Stadion on Wednesday.

The UEFA Conference League play-off second leg in Austria is Hearts’ last chance to secure league-stage European football this season, and the club are fully focused after last week’s 2-2 draw with Rapid at Tynecastle. “Laurent is here. Everyone who is here is fit,” said head coach Wouter Vrancken. “Laurent didn't play any minutes for a long time, but he's fit and there is no risk. For the medical staff also, there is no risk that he would fall back in the injury.”

More than 1,000 Hearts fans are expected to attend the game, with around 22,000 tickets sold. “It is a massive game. I am looking forward to it,” added Vrancken. “With the support of the fans who will be here in big numbers tomorrow, we have to make the best of it and we have to go full. When you play against a side like Rapid Vienna, you saw them last week, they want to put pressure, they want to build up nice with better possession than we saw in the Sturm Graz game, for example. We have to put it all out there to have a good result. We have one objective and that is getting through to the league phase.”

Harry Milne was removed from Hearts’ European squad last week because of injury, but teenage striker James Wilson is a serious contender to play from the start. He scored from 30 yards in last week’s first leg. Vrancken acknowledged that he has a decision to make. “Yes, for sure. I think this is the way you have to do it,” he said. “I expect this from every player who starts on the bench and takes minutes, that they try to make the decision difficult for me. I’m only happy to see these things happen and I'm there to make a decision.

“It will be a special atmosphere, also for them it's a very important game, knowing that maybe we are the underdog in the game on paper. Again, we expect them to go full, the pressure will be strong, so we have to be spot-on to take the result. We feel there is a result to play for, there is a possibility to play, and we are believing in the chances we've got. We showed also that we can score goals, and it's not depending on one position who can score goals. I think it can come from a lot of players, so happy to see that, and let's hope we can use it tomorrow.”

Hearts have practised penalty-kicks in case Wednesday’s game goes all the way to a nail-biting conclusion. “We did already, for a few weeks actually,” confirmed Vrancken. “The pressure is always different when you have to do it in such a moment. We focus on 90 minutes, we want to make the best of it in 90 minutes, and we'll see how the game goes. At the end of the game, we'll see if we have to consider the extra-time or not. We have to go full and don't think about more than 90 minutes to start with.”

Hearts announced the signing of American striker JJ Williams on Tuesday afternoon after agreeing his transfer from Rhode Island FC for a fee in the region of £100,000. Vrancken knows what he will offer. “Personality to begin with,” said the Belgian. “He's also already 18 games or so in competition so he doesn't need physical adaptation. I think it's just adaptation on what we want in the league in Scotland, of course.

“For sure, he’s a big guy and he has a good, big, open personality, also leadership material I would say. We will let him find his spot in the group, in the changing room and on the pitch, and go from there. Let's hope he can perform directly. We don't have to put the pressure all on him. When he can put his game there I think he can be a useful addition. Because of his understanding of football, he's a smart guy and I think he will pick up things really fast. Let's hope he can put the energy directly into the things we want.”

Williams won’t be Hearts’ last signing of the summer window with Faroese winger Aron Benjaminsen close to joining the club. Wrancken would not be drawn on that transfer move, though. “I focus on the players who are in my squad at the moment. JJ is now from today a point of focus for me because he's now part of Hearts. As long as they're not part of Hearts it's not a focus for me. It's for other people and we just want to focus on the game tomorrow.”