Vrancken on Braga's future, Benfica test and confidence boost

[SNS] Head coach Wouter Vrancken has been speaking to the media before the second leg of Hearts' third-round Europa League qualifier with Benfica. Here are the key lines: Vrancken admits star striker Claudio Braga has spoken to him about his future but that those talks will remain confidential, with the Belgian coach fully confident that "as long as he's here" last season's PFA Scotland player of the year will remain "100 per cent committed". Vrancken says the Portuguese striker is "staying at the moment" as he's not aware of any "concrete bids" for the player, who's been linked in the media with a possible move away from the club following the departures of Lawrence Shankland, Cammy Devlin and, just this week, Alexandros Kyziridis. Vrancken says he "can't predict the future" but certainly hopes Braga, and his other top players, all remain at the club for the remainder of the season. The Belgian admits his side is "not at the level" to compete with the likes of Benfica and Sturm Graz, the two sides they've met so far in European competition, but that the big weekend win over Dundee United was good for the confidence of the squad as "the players are working really hard and trying to learn new things". "The next thing is you need some results," he adds. "It's good for the fans to see it works." Asked what he needs to get the players up to the level required for European competition, Vrancken said they "need experience" of that level of football and need to be "physically ready". He then noted the discrepancy in levels between Thursday's opponents, who have recent Champions League experience, and the likes of Laurent Mendy and Tom Renaud in his squad, who came from the fifth and third tiers of England and France respectively. On Benfica, Vrancken said: "You can't rule out the quality of Benfica. Third in the league last season without losing a game. A nice team to watch, a quality team." Vrancken also revealed none of the players carrying injuries, like Harry Milne, will be available.