Gary Wales says Euro challenge a 'welcome distraction' for Hearts after consecutive defeat

Former Hearts player Gary Wales believes Thursday’s Europa League qualifier will be a “welcome distraction” from their domestic form.

The Tynecastle club travel to take on Czech side Viktoria Plzen in the first leg of their opening European tie of the campaign.

It comes following back-to-back defeats to Dundee in the Premiership and Falkirk in the League Cup on consecutive weekends.

But Wales, who played for Hearts for five years between 1999 and 2004, is optimistic they can use the experience of the last two seasons to help them navigate the tie.

He said: “It’s really important. The league campaign is not going to stop for them. So certainly it’s a welcome distraction.

“But the guys have been there in the past and have the experience, so they’ll be looking forward to it.

“The last two results have come as a bit of a surprise given the Rangers game.

“They got off to a fairly good start with that performance. And I’m sure I’m sure the manager and staff and the players will acknowledge the fact that they have not done so well the last two games.

“But certainly, as I said, it’s a welcome distraction to see a European game come along.

“They are well versed in knowing what to do with the campaign, if you look at last year’s campaign with the Rosenborg game they know how to manage things over two legs and hopefully that will have a positive impact and they come back to Tynecastle for the return game with lots to play for.

“In the last couple of games there has been too many underperforming and there hasn’t been a cohesive team performance like we saw against Rangers.

“So I think collectively there is a lot to improve on, but when you come up against people you are not overly familiar with that can be refreshing.”

No matter the result against Plzen, Hearts are guaranteed an extended stay in Europe this season and will drop into the Conference League group stages if they lose the tie.