'We want to play a bit more naughty' - Daniel Stendel speaks on Hearts tactics and subbing Anthony McDonald

Daniel Stendel has explained his decision to substitute Anthony McDonald

Daniel Stendel has explained why he decided to substitute Anthony McDonald after just 29 minutes of Hearts’ 5-0 defeat by Celtic on Wednesday.

The manager felt the teenager could bring a bit of swagger to his team’s attacking play at Parkhead and pitched him in for his first start since July on the right wing.

However, McDonald struggled to make much impact in the early stages and was left dejected when he was taken off to be replaced by Conor Washington with the score tied at 0-0.

Stendel felt he had to take the youngster off to protect him and to give Hearts a better chance of getting something from the game, but the hosts took the lead a minute after the substitution.

“I can see his potential in training and I like him as a player,” said the manager. “I like his skills in the game and in training.

"We want to play a little bit more naughty. He is young, he likes to play and I felt he could bring something different to our team in a game that, from the start, was not going to be easy.

“But we were scared too much from the first second and I had the feeling it was not helpful for him when all the players next to him could not help him.

"We wanted to give the team a sign that we can play with more bravery. He understands that. I don’t like to substitute a player after 25 minutes - I cannot remember doing it before.

"But in this situation there was a feeling that we needed to do things. The worst thing is that we conceded after two minutes [after McDonald came off], the one thing we wanted to avoid when we substituted him.”