James Wilson has already been sickened once by the Liverpool legend - while watching from the stands

Mo Salah has already left James Wilson sick as a fan. He now wants to ensure there isn't a repeat when he takes to the field against the Egyptian superstar, writes Scott Burns in Turkey.

The Hearts star went down to watch the Liverpool legend rip his beloved Manchester United apart three years ago.

Wilson went down full of hope and left shellshocked as Salah scored twice in a 7-0 dismantling at Anfield.

The striker will now get to share a pitch with him tomorrow night, when the Jambos take on Trabzonspor in their latest Conference League group stage game.

Salah and Brazilian Fabinho both played at Anfield that bitter day and will also be amongst the star-studded ranks of the big-spending Turks on Thursday evening.

The Scotland international painfully admitted: “It's cool. These are the games you want to play as a player.

“I’ve grown up watching some of these players and it's an exciting opportunity to play against them.

“I am a Manchester United fan I went down for a Manchester United versus Liverpool game.

“I think it was the 7-0 game. In fact I know it was 7-0. I don't remember if any of them were there, but I'm looking forward to this occasion.

“It's going to be amazing. I look forward to it. I’m not going into the game scared. I'm excited and happy to be here.

“These are the games you want to be involved in, against top players, and that's what motivates me.”

Hearts are looking to recover from a one-sided thrashing of their own. They also lost seven goals as they were thrashed by champions Celtic at the weekend. It was a sore one for everyone connected with the Gorgie club. Wilson has insisted that he and his team mates are over it and aim to make amends against a top European side.

The teenager claimed: “For us, we just have to draw a line under it.

“We're looking forward to this game.

“It's a great opportunity, a great stadium, and we're excited. They're a good team and we're looking forward to it.

“That's always the aim (a positive result).

“We want to give the best of ourselves and try to get a result here.

“That's our plan.”

Wouter Vrancken has done his homework and Wilson knows that he and his team go into this game having left no stone unturned.

“We've done our analysis,” he added.

“They seem a good team and they've started the season well.

“We're not going to give too much away, but we're looking forward to the game and feel we're in a good position.

“We've looked at that and we've watched them, so we're prepared.”

Hearts already have had extensive European experience this season. They opened up against Sturm Graz in the Champions League qualifiers and then Benfica in the Europa League. Vrancken’s men then fell into the Conference League, where they managed to see off Rapid in Vienna to book their place in their group stages. They got an opening home point against Nordsjaelland and Hearts are looking to add to their tally.

Wilson acknowledged: “We knew when we saw the ties at the start of the season that it was going to be tough.

“We looked at Graz, then Benfica, and then we got the draw (in Vienna), that was really exciting.

“We knew we wanted these games.

“I was personally looking forward to them. I loved playing in Europe before and I'm happy to be here again.”

The young Scot despite his youth has already played a number of European game. He was involved a couple of seasons ago when Hearts just missed out on qualifying from the Conference League group stages when they were held at home by Petrocub.

“You take lessons from every game,” the Hearts star confirmed.

“I played European football a couple of years ago and being back in this situation is where I want to be. “I’ve had some really good memories in Europe so far and hopefully I can make some more.

“I enjoy playing football and playing in these big games.

“At this stage of my career it's a great experience and something I'm very happy about.”

Wilson is in line to start against the Turks. He has completely turned his Hearts career around. He spent the second half of last season on-loan at Tottenham Hotspur. He returned and looked surplus to requirements, but managed to impress new boss Vrancken.

The academy graduate insisted: “I'm happy. I'm back playing in the team again.

“I didn't play a lot last season and I didn't start as many games earlier this season, but I've played a lot of minutes. I'm happy to help the team however I can.

“Whatever the coach asks of me, my responsibility is to give my best for the team.

“I’m enjoying the football I'm playing right now.

“We know we've got a good squad and when we're at our best we can trouble any team.

“The main thing is making sure we're ready, and I'm happy to play my part.”

Wilson’s contract is up in the summer but for the moment he is just concentrating on his football.

"It's still early,” he claimed.

“There's a lot of football left in the season.

“I’m enjoying my football, I'm playing and scoring a few goals, so I'm happy with everything at the moment.”