Viktoria Plzen head coach Miroslav Koubek rejected any suggestions that Heart of Midlothian are a weak side as "laughable" ahead of the Europa League play-off second leg at Tynecastle Park.

The 72-year-old warned off any idea of complacency creeping in due to the start of the season for the respective sides. While Hearts are winless in five, Plzen have won seven of eight, only dropping points to Jablonec in the Czech top-flight with a 0-0 draw.

They take a 1-0 lead from the first leg into the game in Gorgie.

"The suggestion that Hearts would be a weak side is laughable," Koubek said. "A team that draws with Rangers in the Premiership, can they be a weak side? I think not.

"I knew it would be a hard tie and that Hearts will be difficult opponents, so we play with the utmost respect. We definitely do not underestimate anyone.

"We are not here to defend a 1-0 because that is no advantage. It's good to have that result. The goal in the last minute helped because it defined tactics for this match in Edinburgh.

"Hearts will not play the way they played in Plzen, they will need to push forward and be on the offensive. We expect them to be more open because of that. In Plzen, we did a kind of siege and we do not expect that here."

Plzen come into the match having lost their key centre-back Robin Hranac who moved to Bundesliga side Hoffenheim in a transfer worth just under €10million.

Koubek doesn't subscribe to the view it could make his side weaker.

"When a player like that leaves, a national team player, it leaves a hole in the squad," he said. "But everyone can be replaced.

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"We are slightly better prepared because Hranac played at the Euros so wasn't with us during the summer. We were able to prepare alternatives and strategies without him against Copenhagen, Karlsruhe and Qarabag.

"The word is 'team'. We need to work as a team to replace him. We need to work with tactics and I trust we can be successful."

In more positive news they had the weekend off, taking advantage of the Czech Football Association's regulations to postpone their game with Sigma Olomouc.

"We appreciated the pass and we used it," he said. "Unlike, HEarts we had one more opponent and we played three weeks consecutively. We decided it was fair to use the opportunity that the Czech FA regulation provides to postpone a match if you are playing play-offs.

"We used the time to study our opponents, train more and watch videos."