Looking for ongoing improvement, in the immediate aftermath of last season Hearts manager Robbie Neilson was already pondering what he thought the realistic next step would be.

“The next step is ‘can we play in Europe on a Thursday night and can we then win on Sunday? Can we rotate our squad?’”

He followed that up in pre-season by reiterating the need to shuffle the pack, as they face up to the demands of domestic league and cup action as well as their European challenge, insisting there would not and, given the schedule, could not be a set starting XI.

“We’ve got so many games that we will be moving players in and out. We’re going to have to do that during the season as we play Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday.”

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson has Stephen Kingsley available to start his side's Europa League play-off against FC Zurich on Thursday. Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group

Horses for courses but, despite running out 4-1 winners at home at the weekend, there are few instances where they can be sure they will win at a canter.

Robbie Neilson faces tough decisions as he figures out Hearts best bets in battle to juggle European and domestic demands