Robbie Neilson has opened up on his plans for Hearts over the international break.
The Jambos had been on a tough run of six defeats in seven matches before a stunning week that produced a Europa Conference League victory on the road over group fourth seeds RFS in Riga followed up by a Premiership win over Motherwell at Fir Park just three days later.
The Tynecastle boss admits the break may well have arrived at the wrong time for his side but says his players need the rest. Those not away with their respective countries will get a couple of days off before taking on some conditional work and then they will get the weekend to rest up again before the hard work returns. Hearts have a busy period up until the World Cup finals starting with Rangers in Gorgie on October 1 in front of the Sky Sports cameras. In total they face 12 games in that short period with big European matches also to be played with trips to Istanbul and Florence included.
