Cercle is in the relegation zone of their league after losing seven of their last fifteen games, and they have experienced some of the same problems as Hearts this season. They now play a second Scottish team after defeating Kilmarnock in the Europa League qualification stages. Muslic feels that Hearts have improved since Neil Critchely was hired as head coach last month and that the two are significantly different.

“Very different, particularly since head coach Critchley took over,” the Austrian remarked. First and foremost, I believe they are extremely well-coached, have distinct patterns, are possession-based, have a lot of possession—quite a bit much for a Scottish team—and do a lot of excellent things with the ball. With the ball, they feel completely at ease. Kilmarnock picked up the second ball with long balls and was much more direct and forceful. I believe that Hearts has this in their repertory as well, but they still have the ability and quality to build up, plan the assault, and move the ball from defence to midfield.

Then, Shankland is a clear target player and a No. 9 that they are searching for. This player, in my opinion, has also scored a lot of goals for Hearts during the previous two seasons. First of all, I think this team is really well-coached, especially since my colleague Neil took over. incredibly handsome, highly aggressive, and not really on par with Kilmarnock.

The fact that it’s a Scottish squad is still what unites them. They will put their all into it; they will be physical, intense, and fully committed. We also experienced something quite similar with Kilmarnock. I estimate that about 3,000 people will come to show their support and applaud.

“We had this beautiful experience with Kilmarnock. Then a game like tomorrow night just becomes a feast with a good atmosphere. And this is something we experienced already and we learned our lessons versus Kilmarnock, especially due to the physicality, due to the long balls, due to the set-pieces. This is also a threat of Hearts, but with a lot of solutions with the ball

“We define ourselves as an out-of-possession team, structured in our pressing, out of possession, against the ball. So I think if we can do some things right tomorrow, we will have also some opportunities to catch them in this style of play.”

Muslic considers Hearts to be better than their current league position of 11th. “Yes, 100 per cent. I am not blinded by the league position. And currently it looks very, very tricky, very similar to us. I think we have more quality than Jubilee Pro League position, our position number 14.

“Hearts has for sure more quality than position, I think, 11 right now. So this is also something we have in common. It’s not easy performing every three days for now almost six months. So it’s difficult to find the balance and the rhythm, especially if we, Cercle, face this as a whole organization the first time in our history. We are still getting closer to find the rhythm, to find the balance, Hearts also. And by the way, this is a team who took already six points in a European group stage. So there will be nothing easy for tomorrow, but we also won’t make it easy for them.”

Cercle have four points from their three Conference League ties so far. Muslic is confident he has the players to take that tally to seven on Thursday. “Yes, 100 per cent. This is the goal because we are playing this beautiful game, first of all, to win. We want to enjoy this international adventure. I think we’re also in a good position with four points. If we can manage to have a good performance tomorrow night and reward ourselves with points, we are in a very comfortable position also in the conference league.

“We need to find our limits tomorrow physically, technically and tactically. And then if this is possible, I think we have all the weapons, the tools and the possibilities to go after Hearts and to play for the three points, knowing that this team is also here to perform. I don’t think they will let the 3,000 supporters over there just come here to see nothing. They have the obligation also to go all in, to go fully. And we are also prepared for that. We will also pick up the fight.”

Muslic coached the former Hearts midfielder Peter Haring during his time as assistant at the Austrian club SV Ried. “Of course, I know him back from Austria. I had him there,” he smiled. “The last time I spoke with Peter, it was six or seven years ago. We played in the second division in Austria and I was assistant coach. And he was also back there – big guy, strong guy, very dangerous in set-pieces with a big heart. So actually he fit perfectly in to the Scottish competition and to the Hearts.”

Suspension and injuries have precluded a number of Cercle Brugge players from this tie. Top goalscorer Kevin Denkey is banned after a red card in the previous Conference League match against LASK Linz. “I think [Abdul] Kader Ouattara and Bruninho are still out. They will be out throughout this year, so they will not return in the next couple of weeks. Erick [Nunes] and Emmanuel [Kakou], the players we used to use in the Jupiler Pro League, are not selectable for the Conference League.

“So we’re going to miss six or seven guys tomorrow, but we’re still going to have a very competitive team and we’re going to try to perform as best as possible. Christian [Ravych] did everything since Sunday. He’s selectable for us and I will keep it open if I start with Christian or I save him for Sunday.

“Kevin is not there, so we have to come up with some different solutions. We cannot replace Kevin one-on-one. It’s just simply impossible because you just can’t replace a guy who scored just 30 goals over the last season. But we have to share this goal threat responsibility on several other players’ shoulders.

Although it’s not about Kevin’s replacement, I believe we have some profiles that can work together. And we require those two or three potentially dangerous men. We can be quite dangerous without Kevin if they get along well and can locate each other with good combinations and open moves. We can’t replace Kevin, so that’s not the point, but we can still benefit from this and have some other possibilities. Additionally, it’s a good opportunity for the players to step up and become somewhat closer. Why not, then?