Trabzonspor coach Thomas Reis is concerned Hearts will cause his team problems if his players look only at their 7-1 loss against Celtic on Sunday. The heavy defeat was watched by the Turkish club ahead of Thursday’s UEFA Conference League tie at Papara Park. Reis cautioned that the Edinburgh side cannot be taken lightly despite his team being strong favourites.

Hearts are due to arrive in Trabzon on Wednesday evening as players try to overcome Sunday’s result. They have won only one of their last five games and need to regain some form, but the challenge in Turkiye is difficult. Trabzonspor have won all four games since Reis took charge last month. He is the club’s first foreign manager to achieve that feat and was praised after overseeing Monday’s 2-0 Super Lig win against Besiktas.

Reis sees some comparisons between Hearts’ style of play and that of Besiktas. “We know that Hearts can be dangerous because of their result in the last game, they’ll want to show this was only one mistake and it was a different competition,” said the German. “For me they are a really good team, they have a good style of play. From what we saw they press very high, sometimes man-to-man and we will have to find solutions. I don’t know if they will want to do this against us, we expect this but they may also have their own solutions maybe to play against us.

“They have good rotations in their midfield with their left-back, with their midfield players and wingers and we have to be ready for this. It will be an interesting game, I think a bit similar to the Besiktas one, but we want to take the three points. It’s a home game and we want to give our all at our own stadium.

“First of all, it could be a danger if we think they had a big defeat, sometimes that has happened in my career as a coach, I have also lost even goals and it is not so easy. They will wnat to show this was a one-off and w ewill have to be ready. This is a really strong team. A bit similar in style of play to Beksitas, but we are prepared for this.”

Trabzonspor have high hopes for Reis and the progress he is making. They feel they could even mount a title challenge with high-profile players like Mo Salah and Fabinho. Reis is keen not to become carried away by the positive start. “I speak the same language as the players,” he remarked. “When you step on the pitch, you want to win. It is not easy. We saw it in each game where we have had difficult moments. The ambitions at Trabszonspor are really high and I only want to take things game by game, step by step and we’ll see.

“I don’t want to promise we’ll be champions or we will win titles in Europe, it is up to me, up to the players, the team is good shape but we will also need a bit of luck with many situations, like injuries. Hopefully the majority of our players can be fit all season so we can train well and we will see. Each game is not easy in each competiton.”

After four wins, 13 goals scored and just two conceded, Reis knows his side are in fine form ahead of Hearts’ visit. “It is all about the team, I have always told you that. I am only one part of the team,” he said. “Yes, I am the head coach but for me it is important the team believes, that they have the confidence and they enjoy to play, I have a really good team, a really good team spirit and that helps a lot.

“We have experience, we have young players who accept decisions and accept that we are always talking about Mo Salah and maybe Fabinho. These are guys who are really important but the team is good. Maybe there is more media for other players but they can learn and hopefully we can keep going on and having success. It is not about me, the team plays on the pitch and after the game they have to celebrate if they win. We have games every three days so you can’t enjoy it so much, but I hope we enjoy another good performance tomorrow and we will all be happy.”

Defender Wagner Pina said he is enjoying being team-mates with the iconic Salah. “He shows us so many things, like how to be a good professional on and off the pitch,” said Pina. “He tells us the most important thing is to be confident in what you do and don’t be afraid, just be confident in the game you play. Playing whenever on the pitch with Salah is good but behind is better because you can have more contact with him than with other players. I need to keep enjoying this and doing the things I have been doing.”