Laurent Mendy: The Hearts transfer he couldn't refuse - and the Benfica belief after Aberdeen disappointment

Hearts’ disappointment over the late collapse against Aberdeen can’t linger too long with more red shirts looming on the horizon. Benfica are up next in the Estadio da Luz after a horrible ending at Pittodrie on the Premiership’s opening weekend. There is no time for moping, and new Tynecastle signing Laurent Mendy does not intend to wallow in frustration too much.

Converting a 1-0 lead into a 2-1 defeat in the dying moments was a chilling way for the Edinburgh club to begin the new league campaign. It would certainly have opened Hearts coach Wouter Vrancken’s eyes to the fickle nature of Scottish football. He will also have learned more about who he can and cannot trust in pressurised situations. Mendy made his debut in central midfield having been pursued by Tynecastle officials since January. He proved himself a reliable and useful recruit with a fine performance.

“I’m absolutely buzzing. I was happy even to hear that I was going to start. I’ve been waiting for that moment for a very long time, so it was a blessing to play,” said the giant Frenchman, a £500,000 signing from Forest Green Rovers late last month. “The two clubs were in talks, trying to agree something at the time, so I trained on my own with a one-to-one coach. I was waiting for the deal to be done and then once it was done, I came straight away.

“At first I was shocked. I was surprised when I heard because, to be honest, I didn't know about the Scottish League that much. I don't really watch football. I only knew about Celtic and Rangers, but just by names. I went to check who Hearts were and, when I saw that they were first in the table, I was like: ‘Oh wow.’ I started tapping into it, looking at YouTube videos. It was a shock, but I knew my ability. I knew that I worked hard. I had a long journey, but I knew that I was going to get there at one point and God made it happen.”

He grew stronger in Saturday’s second half before being substituted on 75 minutes. Vrancken’s reshuffle saw Jamie McCart replace Mendy, with McCart playing centre-back and Oisin McEntee shunted forward into Mendy’s midfield berth. Hearts suffered in the closing stages by conceding two goals in the final moments.

“I had to get used to the first half, the tempo, the way the players are playing, what the manager wants from me, but I think in the second half I got to the groove of it. The manager told me to stay in the middle and protect the back four, and also sometimes get on the ball and then be that pivot to get on the ball and switch the play. At first it was a bit tough because I was just running everywhere. Then he told me to stay in the middle and, in the second half, that's when I got into the groove of it.”

Hearts were in control sitting 1-0 up through McEntee’s first-half goal. They failed to defend a free-kick and a lofted through ball with only minutes left, and Lewis Mayo and Kevin Nisbet took full advantage for Aberdeen. “We just can't concede like this, really and truly,” said Mendy. “You just have to concentrate for the whole 90 minutes. It's just naive and going forward when you shouldn't have. Like the manager said, there's a learning curve. We're going to learn and do better next time. He wasn't too pleased, but at the same time he also gave us confidence that there's going to be another game. So we forget about it now and we move on.”

That other game is quite the game, indeed. Benfica in Lisbon is as exciting as it is daunting. By Thursday night, Mendy will have gone from England’s National League to UEFA’s Europa League in the space of a couple of weeks. It is quite the jump for a 29-year-old. “It's a dream come true, it's an answered prayer that I've always prayed for. Now that I have the opportunity to do it, it's literally a blessing,” he commented. “I’ve been watching Hearts since last season, saw them playing in front of 20,000 or 50,000. No-one is going to say no to that.”

There will be 50,000 to 60,000 inside the Estadio da Luz and many footballers would be slightly apprehensive being asked to perform at that level a fortnight after leaving England’s fifth tier. Mendy is confident and assured of himself, one of the reasons he was identified by Jamestown Analytics, Hearts’ data-based recruitment partner, as someone who could handle the step up.

“I take it game-by-game, whoever we play,” he explained. “I just tell the lads that it's another game of football, really and truly. Obviously, they're a big team compared to others, but we're still going to play our game, the way we want to play, the way the gaffer wants to play, and give it a go.”

While some observers are fearful of the outcome for Hearts in Portugal, Mendy believes in thinking positively. Marco Silva’s squad contains internationalists and World Cup stars like Portuguese defender Antonio Silva, Norwegian winger Andreas Schjelderup and Greek striker Vangelis Pavlidis. Nonetheless, Mendy remains confident of a result. “Yes, 100 per cent. I’m optimistic with everything. I know we can,” he said. “As long as we don't concede, we score, we win the game, and that's going to be the plan.”