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It took a while but across Friday and Saturday Heart of Midlothian discovered their six Conference League opponents, when they will play each of the six sides and which venue.

Steven Naismith will take his side to the Danish capital to face Copenhagen, the popular but quaint city break location of Bruges and then to Sumqayit, the Azerbaijan city near the Caspian Sea where the team will play against Dinamo Minsk behind closed doors.

Interspersed between those three games will be home ties against Omonia of Cyprus, German outfit Heidenheim and Moldova's Petrocub.

There will be two in each of October, November and December. It will mean, of course, that six corresponding Scottish Premiership fixtures will likely be moved to Sunday due to the club's European involvement. An announcement that is expected in the coming days with the first Conference League game in a month's time.

It is when you see the opposition Hearts will face after each of their European matches that you realise the schedule is far from easy for a side that has already got off to a very slow start, the worst in 46 years to be precise.

There is no better example than the first one coming up. At the start of October Hearts will travel more than 4,000km east to Baku to face Dinamo Minsk. Only, the game isn't in Baku. It is taking place at the Mehdi Huseynzade Stadium, an hour's drive from the capital of Azerbaijan. There will be plenty of travel involved pre and post-match. When they arrive back they will be heading to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen. Hearts have not won in the Granite City in more than eight years.

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The first Tynecastle Park meeting between the two sides, who were expected by many to duke it out for third place, will arrive after Hearts' fourth Conference League fixture. This time there won't be as much travelling involved with Cercle Brugge the opponents on the Thursday prior.

Between those meetings with the Dons, Hearts will play the first Edinburgh derby after hosting Omonia and they will travel to Ibrox after playing Heidenheim in Gorgie.

The schedule lets up somewhat in December. After the match against Copenhagen in Denmark Hearts will make the trip to Rugby Park to take on Kilmarnock, last season's fourth-place finishers. St Johnstone are the final opponents after the league phase fixture. They come to Tynecastle days after Petrocub are visitors.

Hearts earned their reward for last season's third-place finish but it is a reward that comes with demands.