Hearts placed seventh in last season’s William Hill Premiership, meaning they will not compete in Europe this season. This gives McInnes, who left Kilmarnock for Gorgie last month, the ability to concentrate completely on personal issues. While he would prefer to be juggling extra fixtures against European opponents like Celtic, Rangers, Hibs, Aberdeen, and Dundee United this season, he can see some benefits to the situation.

“I’d rather have to deal with European fixtures, the congestion and all the disruption that can cause,” according to the 53-year-old. “That’s what I want us to be and where I want us to be. Unfortunately, we’ve got to look from the outside in this season.

When we’ve not got European football to contend with, it’s important you try to make hay at the start of the season and get off to a strong start. I think any team wants to get off to a strong start, get that first win under your belt as quickly as possible.

“There’s no denying that Killie suffered a little bit last season [in the Europa League and Conference League qualifiers]. We were always certain that we could make up the ground, and Hearts was no exception. I always assumed Hearts could make up ground to reach where they wanted to go, but sometimes you give yourself too much to do. So it’s critical that we get off to a solid start.

“There are numerous advantages to playing in Europe, but I believe that for a young manager, focussing on one game every week can be beneficial. Nobody is at peak performance or fully fit in the early portion of the season. It often takes eight to ten games to bring guys up to speed, so when you’re in Europe, you’re often playing and dealing with the highest level of competition while piling up fixtures.

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“It puts a load on you, and unless you have a very strong squad to deal with it, it can produce problems. There is no dispute about that. If you play on Saturday, Thursday, and Sunday, your domestic opponents will be completely focused on you, however you will only be looking at a domestic opponent on Friday.

“Even with that, the team you’re up against, unless they’re in Europe, always has a slight advantage. I’ve always considered it an advantage to play against Celtic, Rangers, or anybody after a European game. Sometimes the fittings can be helpful in that regard. I believe we will be Aberdeen’s first competitive game [in the initial Premiership meeting].

So I think we get the benefit of League Cup games, because you’ve had that competitive football.”