Hearts fans may not thank me for saying this but Europe this season is a free hit. Great days abroad, brilliant trips to Riga, Florence and Istanbul for the Jambos on tour.
Genuinely, these are games to be enjoyed and it's the chance for the club to start building an appreciation and learning about football on the continent. It was never going to be as easy as just turning up against these sides and excelling. This season it's about building, coping with the demands of travelling and all of the logistical stuff which goes with being in a group against clubs from across the continent.
It's another Europa Conference League night on Thursday against Rigas FS but one eye should be already focused on facing Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday. I'm not that fussed about the result in Riga and elsewhere, the same can't be said about the league games.
It's the flip side of the coin for the club and they can't afford to allow things to slip. Hearts sit on the borderline for how this campaign is about to pan out domestically.
One win in their last seven games isn't a good look but they are still sitting level on points beside Aberdeen and Motherwell in joint third spot. Nobody is ringing the alarm bells just yet.
Europe is the icing on the cake, it's the bread and butter of the Premiership which they need to be 100-per-cent focused on. If they aren't bang at it, then Hearts will find themselves sliding down the table and by Christmas they could be fifth, sixth or worse and then it will become so hard to rectify the situation.
I know how difficult it is when you are trying to claw things back going into the turn of the year. Make no mistake, the league will always be the biggest and most important thing for the club.
You see so many clubs who do superbly to get themselves into Europe and then their league form goes to pot. Hearts can't allow that to happen as they need to be in Europe against next season and make it a season on season thing where they can grow and learn along the way.
Finishing third this season is the be-all and end-all for Hearts, they can't afford to finish mid-table and be content with resting on a third place finish last season. If they want to make strides and improve year on year then another third place season is imperative.
What some people don't really appreciate is that every team at this group stage level in Europe is going to be decent. When the draw was made there was a sense that it was a chance for Robbie Neilson and his players to get a few big results.
I spoke to a few fans about the group and they fancied Hearts to do something but last Thursday was a sobering jolt back to reality. We're all guilty of being flippant about clubs and players which aren't household names to us.
Look at the likes of Stefano Okaka, Bertrand Traore and Danijel Aleksić don't spring to your mind when they are mentioned but they are top, top players and they showed that at Tynecastle. Istanbul Basaksehir may not be in the top bracket of the European game but they are an excellent side with players who have played at the highest level and with some top clubs.
Many of them are seasoned internationals and with some top nations at that. Speaking of which, what a coup for Hearts to land my old mate Robert Snodgras s.
A role model for me and for everyone at the club he's now joined, he'll be a superb addition. He was at Stirling Albion and then Ayr United when I was playing down the leagues and he's gone on to have an amazing career.
When I'm in his company I just sit and listen to his stories, he's an incredible person and he'll bring so much to the club both on and off the park.
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