Heart of Midlothian travel to Dens Park in a better place than when they visited the City of Discovery 12 months ago.

Rewind to the full-time whistle on a warm Sunday afternoon in Dundee on August 27, 2023. The team were jeered off. They had dominated possession but struggled to carve openings. Up the other end of the park, they gave up a sloppy goal.

It would be the story of the first few months of the campaign.

Saturday is a chance to demonstrate that evolution once more. They showcased it by finishing third at a canter. But after an impressive summer in the transfer window and a hugely encouraging performance in the opening game of the Scottish Premiership campaign against Rangers, the team appear to be capable of moving to another level.

It's already notable that the team are more "athletic" and "powerful". Those were qualities that you didn't tend to associate with the team last season. It could be noticeable against the Old Firm and to the watching observer it seemed that the team required some more pace and power. They have added just that.

During pre-season, it looked like players who had been at the club had worked hard in the gym and on their conditioning and they've been complemented by the likes of Daniel Oyegoke, Malachi Boateng, Gerald Taylor and James Penrice. And there could be another added in Andres Salazar.

"I think we are more dynamic but I wouldn't want to question the energy levels last season weren't good because they were good," Steven Naismith said when asked if the team are fitter, more dynamic and possess more energy.

"But I think we are definitely more athletic, more powerful and we can get up and down the pitch because a lot of that energy comes just as much when we've got the ball. Our reaction as soon as we lose it, if that's good we don't need to be up and down the pitch.

"I think there are a lot of aspects we have got better. Just all round, everything seems much more familiar to most of the players, what we are asking them, the default of what we expect is becoming second nature to players which with anything that is the part you need to keep grinding on and then it will come and it becomes much quicker and better. The players learn it quicker the more we are doing it.

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"We are in a much better place than we were a year ago."

One of those players who may have surprised fans in the draw with Rangers was Penrice who possesses a fantastic engine to motor up and down the left flank. 

If it wasn't for Taylor's impact on the other side, more may well have been made of the former Livingston star's output. Something Naismith texted the player about in the aftermath, telling him the plaudits would be going elsewhere. 

It was a performance that was more notable considering the plan wasn't for him to play the full game following a tailored pre-season.

"He was very impressive for me," Naismith said. "His natural ability to defend is good, his athleticism and anything on top of that. What he has had to go through in pre-season in terms of lack of games you could think he would look rusty but I don't think he did.

"Going into the game, we pencilled in that he probably going to be coming off at some point. It shows his mentality. That was a big driver for me to sign him. That mental toughness to get through tough moments. When I met him, spoke to him before, I would take his mentality over anybody. It's really impressive."

That afternoon Hearts could, and should, be entering the game having won the opener against Rangers. With time to analyse and digest the game, Naismith admitted the performance was even better than he first thought.

"You look at possession and, yes, we had much less but we were so much more effective in the game than Rangers were," he explained. "That's on our duels, tackles, chances created, shots, the lot.

"Immediately after the game, I thought, 'Yeah, we were good, maybe a wee bit off with the finishing.' It was a much better performance than what we have been against Rangers, especially last season. That was really pleasing.

"The players enjoyed it and I think for everybody it was entertaining. It's a good base to start the season but we need to go into this one with the same energy and intensity to come out with three points."

He added: "I won't dwell on it too much because I know the foundations of the performance will mean more over the coming weeks if we continue it. We will get the rewards, rather than getting a win and just thinking: 'Oh, brilliant.'"

Such was the level of performance, naturally, Naismith was asked about second place and whether the team could push for it. And, understandably, he played it down. It is not something he is thinking about. Merely improving on last season with the added demand of Europe.

"I want us to do exactly what we did last season and then take it from there," he said. "That's moving the club forward and being successful. The added thing of having European football, we will see where we go with that, but if we can do that I'd say that's success. I want us to keep moving and pushing forward.

"For the last two rounds of fixtures before the split last season, our consistency was really good. That's going to be a big part this season. We need to be consistent. The added challenge of the schedule is going to be testing but I believe we have the squad. We have recruited really well."

Steven Naismith was promoting Premier Sports' live and exclusive coverage of Dundee v Hearts on Saturday. Premier Sports is available to stream from premiersports.com or via your TV provider on Sy, Virgin TV and Amazon Prime as an add-on subscription.