As for Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken, he lamented a first-half collapse in their 6-1 first-leg defeat in Lisbon.
However, some fans saw grounds for optimism.
Paul: We probably deserved to be 3-0 down at half-time, but the final scoreline felt harsh and arguably flattered a fabulous Benfica side. I’m proud of how our lads fought back in the second half with gutsy, attractive play and a great goal but sadly conceding two late goals undermined the much improved competitiveness shown after having moved to a back three. I was encouraged by what I saw, especially after half-time, but we simply must stop gifting soft goals to opponents.
James: We expected to get thumped but there were some good performances from our players last night too. Calvin Miller, Beau Reus, Josh McPake and Tom Renaud all had good games. Benfica are a class team and great to watch. Next we have to concentrate on our league form but these games are great for getting the team together and getting up to full fitness for the season ahead.
Maxwell: I have, like many others, been hyper critical of Wouter Vrancken because we expect too much from a new manager/style of play and a bunch of lads sought out by algorithms. Yes, it’s painful, and it will continue to be painful, but if our new manager learns quickly, and I think he will, and gets rid of the dead wood, we all know who they are, maybe at the end of the year we will have an exciting team to watch.
Calum: Dundee United on Sunday really is a must-win for confidence now. There are some definite improvements to be made but, all told, could we as a fanbase please bear in mind that we’ve just played some Champions League regulars?
Lewis: Outclassed but mostly our own doing. Players doing stupid things inside the penalty area with no accountability proves we are missing a leader within the team. If nothing changes soon, we are in trouble.
Steve: We defend like a Sunday league team in stages and it’s decimating our confidence. I cannot believe how far this team has fallen from last season and it’s time to admit the Wouter Vrancken experiment will not work. We are so vulnerable in defence and tactically I genuinely worry for this team.
