Hearts have decided to function in accordance with UK time during their three-day visit to Azerbaijan. As part of their crucial strategic preparations for their match against Dinamo Minsk, Tynecastle players and staff are not adhering to local time in Baku, which is three hours ahead of Scotland.

Following their inaugural Conference League match against Dinamo on Friday, Hearts, who landed in Azerbaijan on Tuesday, will take a direct flight to Aberdeen. On Sunday, they play in the Premiership at Pittodrie, and they want to avoid forcing players to make too many adjustments in between. Liam Fox, interim manager, gave an explanation of the time zone choice.

“I came into this temporary position with everything set up to come out here a day earlier,” he stated. “We simply followed the previous plans and procedures that were in place. The difference is three hours. We’re hoping that it will impact the healing process when we return. Our excitement for Sunday is growing.

We only have tomorrow night’s match against a very formidable opponent on our minds right now. We’ve put a lot of effort into them. For me, the fact that we are the centre of attention is what matters most. While we’re waiting, for however long that may be, we may examine all the other teams. We are able to see and watch a tonne of footage, and we can show the gamers a tonne of different clips. The way we play, both when in and out of possession, and how we approach the game, is ultimately what matters most.

Fox is cautious about Dinamo’s potential strike. “I think they’re a good side,” he remarked. They’re in excellent shape. They have several highly talented individual players in addition to having good size and speed. Every matchup, every opponent at this calibre will have some extremely skilled players. This won’t be an easy game. However, once again, it’s about our actions. My attention is on us rather than the opposition because of how we set up.

Fox stated that all three of the Hearts players had travelled after leaving midfielder Malachi Boateng, winger Yutaro Oda, and left-back Andrés Salazar out of the team for his first game in charge on Saturday against Ross County. It was merely a matter of choice. It most likely

“These guys were naturally disappointed, which we want. Players who desire to participate and play are what we are looking for. In the end, though, you can only select a team for a given matchday, thus some persons will be left out. Regretfully, such is the state of affairs that we find ourselves in.

“I have some selection headaches, which is wonderful because everyone is in good health. Tomorrow night, we’ll check in and decide which team to field. It is a large team, as I mentioned last week. Plenty of talent is present. A lot of quality is present. Applications and actions have been commendable. The training sessions have been beneficial; I’m getting to make decisions. Everyone has travelled to get here. Naturally, a significant number of players will be rested tomorrow. However, each one is posing a unique difficulty to me. They’re all receiving appropriate training, which presents me with challenges and choices.

Until slightly over a week ago, Fox was the head coach of the Hearts B squad in the fifth division of Scottish football. In ten days, after the team fired head coach Steven Naismith, he went from the Lowland League to the Conference League. “It’s a fair jump,” he confessed. I’m just having a great time with this. Being present here is both an honour and a privilege. We’ll exert every effort to support the players. I feel that helping players is my job, as I stated last week. That’s how I view management and coaching.