Hearts to travel from Azerbaijan to Aberdeen in bid to tackle Euro hangover
Hearts will travel straight to Aberdeen from Azerbaijan next month in a bid to tackle the European hangovers that have blighted Scottish sides this season.
The Jambos are determined to make their mark in the Europa Conference League this season, but currently sit rock bottom of the Scottish Premiership with no wins in their first five outings.
Earlier this summer, Kilmarnock made the long trek to Pittodrie off the back of their qualifier in Denmark against Copenhagen, something former Dons boss Derek McInnes raised when quizzed by the media.
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Now, with a test against Dinamo Minsk coming up, Steven Naismith is looking to better his side's preparations by cutting out the return to Edinburgh and heading straight for the Granite City.
Hearts face the Belarusian side at a neutral venue in Sumqayit in Azerbaijan on Thursday, October 3 before taking on the Dons in their first meeting of the season on Sunday, October 6.
It's a fixture Jimmy Thelin's men will be eager to avoid any hiccups in having gone 10 games unbeaten since the Swede took control at Pittodrie.
They could well make it 12 games on the spin by then and go for lucky 13 if they overcome Spartans in the Premier Sports Cup and Dundee in the Premiership before their Jambos battle.
For Naismith, despite the new format of Europe's third competition, he's positive about taking part in Europe and hopes that his side can overcome the long trip back west to snatch a result in the north-east.
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Speaking to The Scotsman, he said: "I'm optimistic about it. I think the format helps, the format is really good. I think it engages every level of team in the competition. I've watched a lot of the teams we're going to come up against.
"Most of them have got a similar style of formation and shape. Maybe one has a different one. The tough part is probably going to be right at the start when we need to go to Azerbaijan and go to Aberdeen in the space of three days. That was always going to be the challenge.
"I think, if you look consistently over the years, Scottish teams outwith the Old Firm have struggled when they've had Europe. It's not going to be easy but I've experienced it myself as a player. We've got internationals within the group that have experienced that tough challenge of having to consistently go when you're not feeling at your freshest.
"You've got to deal with it. If we want to be successful and we want to consistently do it, we need to show that we can handle it and perform in Europe and the games after Europe.
"Also, for the bigger picture, we want to get back in that position for next season. It'll be a challenge but it's a big one, it's a good one and I'm optimistic about the group that we've got."
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It's a 5,300-mile round trip facing Hearts next month, something they could probably have done without given their dire start to the campaign, but Naismith sees sense in cutting out a return to Edinburgh and heading for Aberdeen.
"Travelling out, we'll go a day earlier and we'll go straight to Aberdeen just to cut out a lot of travel that you would have otherwise. We'll need to use the squad, that's inevitably what will need to happen."