Robbie Neilson is confident Hearts can turn the tables on Fiorentina and take a Europa Conference League scalp.
The Jambos face the biggest night of their European adventure so far as the Serie A heavyweights come to Tynecastle on Thursday night. The Hearts boss is well aware of their underdog status but has vowed his players will step out and have a go at the Italians in front of a raucous and expectant home crowd.
He's been studying Vincenzo Italiano's side closely and - without giving too much away - reckons there's an avenue of opportunity to exploit how aggressively they push up the pitch. Neilson told the Edinburgh Evening News: “We have started to watch them. Our analyst has done all his work and we know they are a very, very good team. Technically, they play a very high and aggressive line. Their centre-halves squeeze the game massively, one of them going all the way in (to midfield).
“There is a lot of space in behind them as a result. Our decision will be what we do here. Tynecastle, under the lights, on a Thursday night, we have to have a go. We need to have energy, pace and look to take the game to them. On the tight pitch here, we want to go after it and bring that positivity back again.”
Neilson has also been pondering his team selection and is taking positives from Saturday's 4-0 drubbing from Rangers in that he at least managed to give runouts to several players ahead of their midweek showdown.
He added: “We've got options, that's for sure. One of the good things about Saturday was that we managed to get game time for some of the boys. Whether it be the full match, 45 minutes, 30 minutes, whatever, we got a bit of game time so the lads are fresh.
“The only ones who didn't get on the pitch were Nathaniel Atkinson – who played when he was away with Australia – plus Toby Sibbick and Gary Mackay-Steven. They are fine and will do a bit of extra work but everyone else has been playing.”
