Liam Fox working for the next Hearts manager as players are taught 'respect but no fear' approach

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Dinamo Minsk in Azerbaijan is an awkward European tie on Thursday

If changing manager is a step into the unknown, entering a European tie 2,575 miles from home on neutral territory with an interim manager is even more so. Hearts travel to Azerbaijan on Tuesday to prepare for their opening Conference League match against Dinamo Minsk in a state of transition and badly needing a result against Pot 6 opponents.

Liam Fox is the temporary replacement after head coach Steven Naismith was sacked, and he is already working to lay foundations for whoever is appointed permanently. Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Ross County at Tynecastle Park wasn’t exactly the start he wanted. He is now studying Belarusian opponents in the hope Hearts can win for the first time this season at the 11th attempt.

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Players are being taught to respect everyone but fear no-one. Trepidation and, at times, hesitation has cost them valuable points domestically this season. Those mistakes can’t be repeated in Sumqayit on Thursday evening as Dinamo have the capacity to punish any slips. Vadim Skripchenko’s side have lost only one league game since last November and sit joint-top of the Belarusian Premier League with two games in hand.

Fox has watched them closely but is keen to stress that Hearts must focus on themselves. This is a firmly winnable tie for a Pot 4 team, even one with no permanent manager. Fox’s aim is to galvanise and stabilise to ensure the next Tynecastle head coach inherits a more appealing set of circumstances.

“I’ll watch them a few times but I'd like to make this clear: It's about what we do. Everything is about what we do,” insisted Fox. “We respect everybody but we fear nobody. We’re Heart of Midlothian, we've got some really difficult games coming up but my predominant focus is on us, it's on Hearts, it's on what we do.

“Absolutely, we'll be making adjustments, we'll be making difficult wee tweaks here and there but fundamentally we're going to be what we're going to be for the next week. Hopefully, I pass it to somebody else who comes in and we're in a wee bit better place, we're a bit calmer with hopefully had a couple of results.

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“Credit to the previous [management] guys, they've done a lot of work already. There's a lot of stuff there. It'll be a really difficult tie, a really difficult task. But again, it's a brilliant week. The players worked so hard last year to earn the right to play in these types of games and these types of nights. So it's one I want us to go after.”

Winning away from home in Europe is not a regular occurrence for any Scottish club. A victory in Azerbaijan could inspire a much-needed turnaround in Hearts’ fortunes. “Absolutely. One of the things that I've learned in football is that you're 90 minutes away from a catastrophe or a disaster, but you're only two seconds away from a bit of positivity and things flipping,” observed Fox.

“It can be a wee simple thing, it can be a simple pass, it can be a tackle, it can be the ball going in off somebody's backside. It can be anything and things can turn really, really quickly in life. Especially in football, one wee moment can flip it and then everybody's like: ‘Ah right, it becomes a wee bit easier. Because when you're in these moments, when you're struggling and you're looking for results and form, it can turn really, really quickly.”

Supporters won’t be present as part of UEFA’s order that Belarusian clubs must play home games behind closed doors in a neutral country. The country’s involvement with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted European football’s governors to intervene. Fox is disappointed not to have any Jambos in Sumqayit.

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“I think it's for everybody's experiences, but also we understand the reasons why and what for,” he said. “Listen, the Hearts fans will travel here, there and everywhere. It would be brilliant to experience that for everybody because of the effect that the supporters can have on the players, on the team and sometimes on the actual game itself.

“But that is what it is. We'll need to deal with that. It'll be a different challenge for us, it'll be different. Probably a bit like going back to playing during COVID times. It's just something, you've always got a choice what you do in life. You can look at it negatively, you can look at it positively. I want us as a playing staff, as a coaching staff, as a club to be ready to go for that.”

Although only 40 and promoted from his job as Hearts B team coach on an interim basis, Fox is no stranger to European competition. He was Dundee United’s assistant coach when they beat Dutch side AZ Alkmaar 1-0 at Tannadice in August 2022. The return leg of that Conference League third qualifying round became a harrowing affair with a 7-0 defeat.

“There are a couple of experiences I've had. At United, we had a really good result against AZ Alkmaar at home and then we had a very, very difficult result the following week,” he recalled. “Everything in football is about adapting and overcoming and evolving. The plan has been put in place for a period of time for going [to Azerbaijan], so we're all clear on that. We know what we need to do. Ultimately it's about the game, making sure we turn up in the game.”

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There will be precious little time for reflection regardless what happens abroad. Hearts fly direct from the most eastern corner of Europe to Aberdeen to prepare for their Premiership fixture at Pittodrie three days later. Fox is looking forward to a full week working with the first-team squad.

“In this job you learn new things every day,” he said. “The moment you stop wanting to learn and looking for ways to improve, to get better, can I change this, can I change that? That's on me as well. I feel I've got a good chunk of experience in the bank, I've had some different jobs, different roles, some big responsibilities at some big clubs. I repeat myself, I'm looking forward to this week. It's a huge privilege, it's a huge honour and it's a week I want us to be really positive with.”

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