Exclusive:Hearts striker talks and decisions explained as Wouter Vrancken makes his feelings clear

Claudio Braga enjoyed his best performance for weeks as Hearts beat Motherwell 2-0 on Sunday. It was no coincidence. Talks between the Portuguese forward and club coaches have been ongoing in an attempt to arrest his minor form dip. A well-worked move and precise glancing header put Braga on the scoresheet at Fir Park, and restored that infectious smile to his face.

Wouter Vrancken, the Hearts head coach, explained to the Edinburgh News today how discussions between him and Braga went lately. The striker had scored only twice since August and cut a frustrated figure on the pitch at times. He was irked being substituted against Nordsjaelland in the opening UEFA Conference League tie this month. Vrancken’s words were simple: Don’t overthink it. Stay calm. Play your game.

Braga looked back to his old self at the weekend as he and striker James Wilson dovetailed in a colossal Hearts victory. Braga enjoyed 45 touches during the game. Only two were inside the Motherwell penalty area, but one landed in the net. It is a timely renaissance for one of Tynecastle’s most influential players. With a league game against Rangers, a Premier Sports Cup semi-final with Hibs, and a European away trip to Thun in Switzerland on the horizon, the return of Braga’s brilliance is rather useful.

“For every forward, you need that confidence,” said Vrancken. “Hopefully, Claudio can take confidence from Sunday’s performance into what's coming next. Again, he gives his best. We speak a lot about how he has to fill his position, and Sunday was good. I also have to say that James did the hard work for the team. Maybe he's not always in the spotlight, but he takes over positions and makes up for players who are out of position. When we had to battle and went through difficult moments, everybody was there to fight for the team.

“When I speak with Claudio, I always tell him that he has to enjoy the game. Don't force things, and don't think you have to be decisive all the time. He's a good guy and a good player. He just needs to enjoy the game, be happy on the pitch and work for the team. Then the moments will come. Sunday was a moment like that.”

It is clear that Vrancken’s first choice attacking pair is Braga and Wilson. Those two have lined up one behind the other in the Belgian’s 4-2-3-1 system in 10 of Hearts’ last 11 matches. They are the men in possession. Braga has five goals and three assists from 19 appearances, Wilson five goals and one assist from 15 outings. Only Calvin Miller, with seven, has scored more. Others who can play the striker or No.10 roles are restricted either to bit-part roles or sometimes no role at all. Amadou Ba-Sy, JJ Williams, Landry Kabore, Sabri Guendouz and Elton Kabangu are trying to oust Braga and Wilson with little success lately.

Vrancken is open about his decisions at the top end of the pitch. “At the moment, it's difficult to hide that. It's been like this in the last few games with Claudio and James,” he said. “It's up to the others to show themselves and demonstrate that they're better. That doesn't just mean being better in terms of quality, but also showing the team spirit and the things we want to see.

“I think those guys have already shown that. We're hoping that everybody can fill their positions and carry out their tasks so that we have a lot of competition. You know the situation we're in. Looking at today, we have eight players out injured. All eight could be starters or players in the starting XI. Then I see the guys who are playing out of position performing in those games. I'm really happy with all of this.”

Character, desire and unity were all notable features of the win at Motherwell. “Yeah, that's the first thing you want to see. In a team sport, you want players acting like a team and not as individuals,” Vrancken commented. “I told them after the Trabzonspor game last Thursday that the difference there was that they had strong individuals. We had a strong team on Thursday, and we had to see that from this team on Sunday.

“It's not easy travelling back from Trabzon and then bouncing back from the Celtic game after losing 7-1. There were also only two days of rest and all those things, as well as the circumstances with the wind at Fir Park. You cannot play your best football in terms of quality in those conditions, but it had to be a battle, and we won that battle. It was nice to see.”

There was also plenty satisfaction at the quality of Hearts’ goals by Braga and Miller. “I'm always happy to see quality goals. As long as they're in the net, it's okay for me,” smiled Vrancken. “I'm also happy for the offensive players that they have some stats and some moments. Hopefully, it gives them extra confidence for the run of games to come.”