Hearts boss relieved Mohamed Salah did not score two or three against his side

Hearts manager Wouter Vrancken said he was pleased Mohamed Salah did not score two or three goals after Trabzonspor defeated the Scottish side in the second round of the Conference League league phase.

Salah scored Trabzonspor’s opening goal and created their second as the Turkish club secured three points. The result gave Trabzonspor a perfect record from their first two matches, leaving them on six points.

Speaking to BBC Sport Scotland, Vrancken acknowledged the individual quality within a Trabzonspor side that had invested heavily in its squad.

“Against a strong team like this, and as I told you before, Trabzonspor spent a lot of money bringing in new players, and even signed Mohamed Salah on a free transfer,” said the Belgian.

“So Trabzonspor have a lot of individual quality.”

Vrancken also explained that he had given Rogers Mato specific instructions about his defensive responsibilities and how to contain Salah.

“I explained some things to Rogers Mato, the team’s winger, about the full-back position and how to mark Salah,” he said.

Hearts were forced to use Mato at left-back, despite the player normally operating as a winger, because of a shortage of players available for the position.

“I was happy to see this tactic work because, if Salah had scored two or three goals, everyone would have said that the decision to play him there was wrong and not a good one,” Vrancken added.

“But yes, you have to trust some players.”

The defeat was Hearts’ first in the competition. They had drawn 1-1 with Danish club Nordsjælland in their opening match.

Trabzonspor began the league phase with a 4-2 victory against Finnish side KuPS before overcoming Hearts. They share top spot with Greek club Panathinaikos, Swiss side Lugano and Norwegian team Brann.

Trabzonspor’s next fixture will be against Freiburg on 5 November.