With Heart of Midlothian set for a financial windfall from competing in the European group stage for the second time in three years, the club will push as much as they can to support Steven Naismith regarding the budget - but it won't be the case of a multi-million-pound war chest.

Hearts earned upward of £3million in profit from their European involvement last season when the team reached the Conference League group stages. That figure is expected to be greater next season because of the investment in infrastructure already in place, plus the potential for even more games.

Naismith has already played down the idea that the club will bring in a raft of new signings to deal with the workload of playing across four competitions but noted that should the right players become available the club would be willing to strike.

READ MORE: How Hearts season was one of time: Naismith, falling apart, Shankland, feats

"I'm not sure the budget is that much different," he said. "The club pushes as much as it can all the time. As I've said, if there's a player to be signed that will make us better and be an asset then we will look to do that. If that's beyond what we expected to pay, they are willing to push to do as much as they can.

"On the flip side, we are not just going to sign players because we're in Europe. That's just not going to happen. I want to rely on the academy at points. There isn't a big, 'Oh, we've got this budget over that budget.' I don't want to work like that and the club have been comfortable saying that's not how we're going to work.

"If we think there are players in areas we need to really strengthen, we will strengthen. If not, we'll not."

There is a strong desire to strike a balance between ambition and being sensible, even if there will be pleas to "splash the cash". There will be investment made in improvements away from the squad, including the pitches at the Oriam.

"The club isn't going to risk its long-term future just for the sake of that," Naismith said when asked about being handed a big transfer budget from the Euro windfall. "We are ambitious and want to keep improving. We're investing a lot into the training pitches this summer. The infrastructure needs to grow as we bring players in.

"The quality and level of player that come in, the expectation of what we get every day and what they get every day rises. We need to carry that trend on. There are loads of things we will be improving on but we aren't going to splash cash for the sake of it."

When it comes to the preparation for games, it is already well underway. The players have been given nearly five weeks off before they return for what will be an important pre-season.

Due to European involvement, Naismith will have less time with the squad on the training pitch during the season. It is helped by having foundations in place, instilled across the past 12 months.

Read more

"When you find out your opponents, you then work out how they're going to play, what their main threats are and how we're going to hurt them," he said. "We have been preparing since January for what is coming, not just for Europe this year but to make us better.

"That's consistently going on in terms of recruitment and what we're going to do. We are consistently on that all the time. We did a lot of work last season on when we've got the ball and when we don't have the ball. It becomes easier but I think we can demand a bit more from the players now.

"Our planning from day one, that's what we are in the thick of at the moment. That's what needs to be ready for when the players come back so we get as much time on the pitch with the players. You are going to lose that when you go into Europe, you lose pitch time. It's key to getting that message across."