Robbie Neilson admits Hearts have endured a bittersweet European adventure which is now all about booking a return. A 3-1 defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir brought the curtain down on their Europa Conference League exit which saw Nathan Atkinson grab a late consolation against the Group A topping Turks.
But two wins over Latvians RFS and a third place finish are reasons for Neilson to believe his side can learn from the harsh lessons dished out by heavy defeats to Italians Fiorentina and Basaksehir both home and away as he insists the Jambo support have enjoyed a party along the way.
He said: "It’s our job now to get back into European football and hopefully improve on our results next season. It has been massive for the club and massive for the fans as well, they have had four great away trips to enjoy, we have had thousands of fans travel Europe and have a fantastic time.“I think we’ll look at the positives, to be honest with you.
Look, we have managed to get group stage football for the first time in 16 years.“We have competed, we have picked up six points which is fantastic for us.
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