Hearts reaction: Biggest issue facing team, Aidan Denholm, Liam Boyce's Rosenborg poser

Hearts' Aidan Denholm and Liam Boyce at full time following the 0-0 draw with Kilmarnock at Tynecastle.

Moira Gordon was in attendance at Tynecastle and picks out some of the talking points from the match:

Attack is biggest issue

After the match Hearts’ Technical Director Steven Naismith declared himself happy with the defensive aspect of the Gorgie side’s play, denying Kilmarnock, who had a notoriously difficult time on the road last season, an early away win in this term’s league campaign. He said that was an area they had been keen to address and on a day when they had to settle for a point, he saw the clean sheet as a big positive. “We looked really secure at the back,” said Naismith. “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.”

If they can repeat that against Rosenborg on Thursday, they will give themselves a superb platform to produce the required scoreline to overturn the 2-1 first-leg deficit in their Europa Conference League qualifier, but to ensure progress to the play-off round against Hadjuk Split or PAOK, they will have to be more potent up front. After drawing a blank against Kilmarnock, Naismith tried to play it down but there was a distinct lack of quality in the opposing box as his men limited themselves to a paltry serving of real chances, giving the Kilmarnock keeper Will Dennis as easy an afternoon as he could have hoped for in Gorgie.

Against Kilmarnock they managed just nine shots at goal – only one of them on target – and while Lawrence Shankland is unlikely to have as ineffective a performance on Thursday and while the bounce did not favour Kyosuke Tagawa at times and things did not quite click, the latest Japanese acquisition did show a determination to impress that suggests that he will come good once he has more time to work with his squad mates and adapts to the pace and style of the Scottish game.

As a team, they were ponderous in the build up, giving the Rugby Park side all the time they needed to regroup and make it even harder to progress, and that left Hearts without a cutting edge. Things did improve when both Kenneth Vargas came on for his debut and showed pace, fight, and work ethic. He also showed an attacking instinct that could be telling when he gets into the groove, while Liam Boyce is a man hungry to get back to the level of fitness which will permit him more than a cameo appearance and that is ominous for opposition sides.

But, the Killie game came too soon for too many of Hearts’ frontline options and the men behind them just didn’t provide the service they needed. It is now up to the management team to ensure they find the right balance between shutting up shop and playing forward quicker, with enough verve to slice through teams, and give their strikers the kind of ammunition they need earlier if they want to make the desired impact at home and in Europe.

Youngsters

One of the positives was the latest appearance from Aidan Denholm, who made another substitute appearance of note. Having been trusted to come on in Norway on Thursday, the teenager was given another 22 minutes at the end of this one and looked comfortable and Naismith sees a bright future for the academy graduate.

Praising his attitude and insisting he has earned his chance in the first team, he said that others are waiting in the wings. “He has had some journey but I have worked with him closely - I've worked with a lot of the young boys closely and there are a few who are in and around it,” said Naismth. “A club like Hearts has to produce players. We need to produce guys and then give them the opportunity to come in and improve us and improve themselves . These are big games. The one on Thursday night, was a big environment for him to come into – when you're 2-0 down in Europe – but he is very mature and his attitude is spot on and that is why he is getting his chance. Then [against Kilmarnock] he showed he can match that up with another mature performance.”

Fit for the battle

Hearts will weigh up their options ahead of Thursday night’s second leg of their European tie against Rosenborg. One or two players took hard hits against Killie, including Stephen Kingsley, but Alex Cochrane will be available again after being suspended on Sunday, while the management team will wait for an update from the medical staff when it comes to Beni Baningime and Jorge Grant, who, according to Naismith, are both dealing with “minor” hamstring niggles.

Alan Forrest and newcomer Vargas made an impression when they came on at the weekend and while the club have been careful to protect personnel as they juggle the different domestic and European demands, the amount of time Liam Boyce gets on Thursday will be interesting.

He has been an asset whenever he has come on but it is still too early to be expecting a full 90 minutes following such a long injury spell. He is champing at the bit, though, and as he is able to get more and more minutes under his belt, it will be intriguing to see how long those in charge leave it before they are tempted to give him a starting role.