Robbie Neilson explains challenges presented by Hearts playing on Friday nights

Modern-day footballers and fans are now accustomed to kick-off times and match-days deviating so often from 3pm on a Saturday, but Friday night football is a more recent phenomenon in this country.

Hearts supporters are going to have to get used to watching their team at the end of the working week, however, as the Championship’s television deal is with the BBC and they’ve gone for 7.45pm on a Friday night as their slot.

The Gorgie Boys are the Beeb’s star attraction, especially when supporters are not allowed into stadia as Covid-19 continues to enforce lockdown restrictions on mass crowds.

Hearts’ opening game of the Championship, a stunning 6-2 victory over Dundee, was beamed into the homes of millions last Friday and this week, their trip north to take on Arbroath at Gayfield is also on a Friday. They also have an away match against Dunfermline next month on a Friday night, meaning that three of their first four league matches will not be in their usual Saturday slot.

The BBC cameras and presenter Jonathan Sutherland will be following Hearts a lot this season.

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson accepts that, with the Jambos being box office this season, they will be more in demand than most teams. But, he explains, these matches don’t come with some pitfalls, namely preparation and the fact that the cameras are on them looking for a shock.

"It does make it a wee bit more tricky, to be honest,” Neilson responded when asked by the Evening News if Friday nights make it more challenging to prepare. “You have a four-day build-up on it, but we have to get ready for the game as we normally would.

"We came back to training today and we just go straight through. Against Dundee, we were lucky enough that the club allowed us to train and then go to a hotel for a rest. This week against Arbroath will be a bit different with the travel, but it's just part of being at a big club.

"We're going to Arbroath on Friday and the reason it's on TV is because they expect an upset. They're not putting it on because they expect us to go up there and win convincingly. Dick [Campbell, Arbroath boss] is a very, very experienced manager. He has a back-four that has been together for the last five or six years and good players. It'll be a tough, tough game and there have been a lot of teams that have gone up there and thought they were going to win and have been turned over.”

Neilson knew that this league would present all sorts of challenges, hence why he assembled an experienced yet versatile squad. He believes those qualities came to the fore when Dundee attempted a comeback when 4-2 down.

"I think you have to go with experience in this league,” added Neilson. “We saw against Dundee it was comfortable, then they changed to a diamond in midfield and we tried to get control back and had to change it. We were able to bring Peter Haring on with Andy Halliday, who give you that strength and experience. We then moved Olly Lee and Jamie Walker around. Having that strength and flexibility allows us to do things like that.”

That squad will be thrown different Friday circumstances at Gayfield, but you sense Hearts are more than ready for it.