Inside the Hearts mixed zone as broken players exit after the 4-0 Champions League defeat against Sturm Graz

Deep in the bowels of the Liebenauer Stadium, there were contrasting energies in the air after Sturm Graz’s 4-0 thumping of Hearts. Dance music boomed from the home dressing room as the Austrians celebrated a resounding Champions League victory. Just along the corridor, the away dressing-room door remained ajar as Hearts players and coaches trudged out one by one. Their sombre look told its own story.

Sturm executed a ruthless triumph in front of their passionate fans by exploiting their opponents’ defensive weaknesses. Holding a 1-0 lead at half-time, they scored a further three goals inside 14 second-half minutes as the Tynecastle side collapsed in Wouter Vrancken’s first competitive game in charge. It was a sobering reminder that this is a team, and a club, very much in transition with a new head coach and eight new signings - and playing at an altogether different level than they are used to in Europe.

Standing in the UEFA mixed zone just beside the dressing rooms always provides insight into players’ emotions. Mixed zones are standard practice after European ties. Players stroll through and can choose whether to stop for interview with waiting media or keep walking. One who stopped was Hearts’ recent recruit Malachi Fagan-Walcott. Several of his colleagues looked simply too distraught to contemplate a conversation about the previous 90 minutes.

Claudio Braga headed out towards the team coach with a look of anger on his face. Vrancken could not hide his disappointment. Alexandros Kyziridis wore the hood up on his Hearts fleece while Landry Kabore let out a huge sigh and generally looked a picture of dejection traipsing past. They all knew this Champions League tie is as good as over ahead of Tuesday’s second leg in Edinburgh. Even the short walk to the bus seemed a slog.

For Vrancken, there is much to learn about his new squad. He picked an attacking team against Sturm which led to gaps at the back. His four-man defence on the night was signed from Valerenga, York City, Rotherham United and Partick Thistle, yet this is the Champions League qualifiers. Christian Borchgrevink, Fagan-Walcott, Jamie McCart and Harry Milne endured a harrowing evening. Midfielders Oisin McEntee and Blair Spittal looked overrun, with Braga supporting Kabore. Hearts needed an extra body in midfield, and forwards who could convert the chances Kabore and Kyziridis wasted.

Sturm are an experienced European side who scored their first two goals from set-pieces and the other two from clinical attacking play. For Fagan-Walcott, his competitive Hearts debut evolved into a disaster despite him being one of the Tynecastle side’s better players on the night. He took the professional line of not giving up the tie despite the four-goal deficit. Realistically, Hearts are heading for a drop into the Europa League third qualifying round and a meeting with either St Gallen or Benfica.

“It's just tough to take. I think when you look at the stats for the game and everything, it's not a 4-0,” stated Fagan-Walcott. “But at this level, you have to take your chances. I think we got good chances as well. If we take them, it looks like a different game. We just have to look for the next one at Tynecastle and try to do as much as we can because the tie is not over until the 90th minute at Tynecastle.

“It's hard to take 4-0. You're never going to smile after a 4-0, but we can only look forward to the next game and try and make it right. We've seen things in the past where teams have come back from a 4-0 defeat. You go home and you can change it completely. So that'll be our plan. It hurts. It does hurt, but you can't get too down with the downs and you can't get too high with the highs. We've just got to look to the next one and try to do what's best for the team - try and kick on and try and win it.”

Mixed zones are full of raw feelings after the final whistle and Fagan-Walcott was honest enough to acknowledge the sense of embarrassment Hearts felt. “Of course it's embarrassing, it's 4-0,” he said. “These things in football that happen, 4-0s happen, and if you get too embarrassed and sink, then come Tynecastle, it'll just get worse. We will take the embarrassment, we'll take it, and we'll use it as strength to next week.

“I haven't seen any of the goals back, so I can't actually tell you individually what was wrong. We have to look back at it, we look back at all of the goals, and going into the next game will be better. We can't make excuses. We had a short time together [in pre-season], but we're all grown-ups, we all take accountability, so we have to keep going.

“It was tough, the first 14 minutes after half time. I think that's when you need, as a group, to just come together and try and do the right things. Maybe slow it down, or someone come in with a big tackle. But you have to remember we're all new. We have to try and learn off each other, and learn who does certain things. We're still gelling, but it will come.”