PETER HARING admits he cannot wait to sample the reward of European football following four roller-coaster years at Hearts.
The Austrian midfielder recently signed a new one-year contract after initially asking gaffer Robbie Neilson for time to consider his options.
Haring is Hearts' second longest serving player in the current squad behind Michael Smith and has experienced the highs and lows of relegation, promotion, cup final heartache and his own injury torment.
And the 29-year-old concedes he could not walk out on the club just as they are about to embark on the exciting challenge of guaranteed continental football until Christmas.
Haring said: “I spoke to the gaffer when he offered me the chance to stay longer and I said, 'I have been here four years now and I don’t want to rush into anything', and he was great.
“He totally understood that but then after thinking about it, it was pretty quickly that I made the decision to stay for longer.
“I didn’t look too much into it to be honest with regards to finding a new club, it was still very early, when I re-signed here, the transfer window was not even open.
“The challenge of the coming season with European football, it will be a really busy schedule and that was something that was really attractive to me.
“I’ve been here long enough, I went through difficult periods as well, everything imaginable has happened in the last four years. I’m really looking forward to a better future.
“It’s a reward for last season because we’ve done well enough to qualify for Europe, getting third place.
“It’s a really exciting time, with the World Cup in the winter, the schedule is going to be even busier and with Europe it’s going to be busier than it has been recently.
“I’m looking forward to a new experience for me because I have never played in Europe so far.”
Haring moved to Hearts in 2018 from SV Ried in his homeland and has established himself as a popular figure among the fans and his own team-mates.
With the exception of Craig Gordon - who rejoined Hearts two years ago, only Smith has been at the club longer.
Haring admits he knows the Gorgie outfit inside out and is excited about what the future holds as Hearts look to go from strength to strength with the aid of £3 million guaranteed income from Europe.
He added: “I think after Soapy (John Souttar) left it is just Mick that’s been here longer.
“It’s no different to how it was last year, if I have to take responsibility it’s no problem for me, if anyone needs anything I’m here for the new players.
“I know the ins and outs quite well. I never thought when I first joined I would be here four years, you don’t know what will happen in football.
“Even after four years it’s still exciting to be here, to see what is ahead and I’m still proud to be part of the club.
“It’s a great place, on the football side and the facilities are great, the stadium. The fans are unbelievable, as we’ve seen with the season ticket sales.
“It’s a great place to be at the moment and I know what a great club it is and can be.”
Neilson is attempting to build a bigger squad this summer in the hope the players can handle the pressures of playing in both domestic and European.
And Haring admits it will be a huge learning curve for everyone.
He said: “No-one is going to know 100 per cent what it is going to be like because of Europe.
“We’ll see how it is when we’re playing those games, how we’re feeling.
“I think it’s 25 odd games before the World Cup break, it’s a lot.
“There won’t be anyone who will play every game next year.
“It’s going to be a good experience for everyone involved.”
