Frankie McAvoy insists Hearts landing Europa League Conference millions is a financial must

Frankie McAvoy has admitted it's a financial imperative for Hearts to bank European group stage football.

The Jambos head coach will take charge of his side against Rosenborg in a Europa Conference League third round, first-leg qualifier in Norway knowing the incentive which lies on the horizon if they can progress. Qualification for the group stage of this competition last season earned the Edinburgh club oaround £4million in profit and McAvoy believes the target is to repeat the feat with either Hajduk Split or PAOK FC lying in wait in a playoff if they can overcome the Norwegians.

He said: "I think it's crucial we do our utmost to try and get into the group stage. It just shows you the importance of finishing third in the Premiership. Aberdeen have that chance to progress in their tie knowing they go into the group stages of the Conference League. "We have an opportunity to progress to the next knockout stage and hopefully we are prepared to do our best.

"It will be a tough encounter. This is our second competitive game. Rosenborg have had a couple of games in the Conference League and they are midway through their season. In terms of sharpness and fitness, they are probably ahead of us but there's no reason we can't come here and do extremely well."

Hearts will be without Japanese striker Kyosuke Tagawa, Kenneth Vargas and Calem Nieuwenhof due to the trio being caught up in red tape and neither flew with the team which landed in Trondheim yesterday afternoon.

McAvoy admitted a combination of not having visas of international clearance was no surprise and he'd already planned on being without the trio. He said: "When we signed them, we knew this could happen. We have tried but it's just a problem with the