Steven Naismith blamed a European hangover and early teething trouble with new signings as Hearts stumbled to a goalless Premiership draw at home to Kilmarnock.
The Tynecastle side lacked the necessary spark in attack to break down a resolute Kilmarnock, who enjoyed the better opportunities over the course of the stalemate.
And Jambos technical director Naismith admits Thursday’s Europa Conference League third qualifying round encounter with Rosenborg in Norway appeared to have an effect on his players.
He said: “There was some frustration there but I’m realistic and I’ve got the experience of being in these situations.
“There’s been a few new players come in, it’s new to them, we have played away from home in Europe and come back.
“You’ll have seen it a million times that these are tough performances even before you look at the opposition.
“It was a slow start. Everyone was waiting for somebody to ignite the performance but as the game went on and the second-half developed, it looked very good for us.
“We were very composed and we made Kilmarnock defend.
“A big positive is we looked really secure at the back. That’s one of the big areas we needed to improve on, in set plays and general play and I thought we did look solid.”
The former Rangers and Scotland striker added: “(Thursday) is going to have an impact, without a doubt. I’ve been there as a player – it’s hard.
“As much as you prepare properly and do everything right, it’s an intense period. We’ve not had the luxury of having many competitive games and the adrenaline in the build up to games takes a bit out of you as well.
“And we’ve got new players who are still trying to bed in. So you’ve got to juggle all that but overall, there were loads of pleasing aspects to our performance.”
Hearts are back at home on Thursday night for the second leg of the meeting with Rosenborg as they seek to overturn their 2-1 first-leg deficit.
Asked if he was confident they could find a spark for that match, Naismith said: “If we don’t, then we have a problem.
“If players don’t want to play on a European night at Tynecastle, then that’s a problem. But I’m comfortable with that.”
Meanwhile, Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes hailed his new-look side for taking their haul to four points after their opening-day shock win over Rangers.
The Rugby Park outfit carried the greater attacking threat and Kyle Magennis’ header and Stuart Findlay’s shot came closest to breaking the deadlock.
McInnes said: “We’re not celebrating coming here and getting a point and the clean sheet and the performance.
“But what I am privately celebrating is the type of team we’ve become in a short space of time.
“Coming through the League Cup stages and frantically trying to put a squad together that can meet the demands, we had so much to do.
“But the team over the last couple of games have shown so many real qualities.
“That wasn’t just a battling performance, that wasn’t us hanging in. Hearts came onto it for about 10 minutes towards the end, but I thought we were pretty assured and comfortable throughout.
“And I think we look as if we’ve been playing together a lot longer than what we have done – and that’s testament to the players.
“That’s two clean sheets against Rangers and Hearts.
“It’s not been perfect but it was a strong performance, as it needed to be and it was pretty comfortable for the vast majority of it.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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