Hearts arrange a pre-season friendly as they step up preparations for the new campaign

Hearts have arranged a pre-season friendly against Dunfermline at East End Park as they step up preparations for the 2023/24 campaign. The match will take place on Sunday, July 9, with a 3pm kick-off as the two clubs ready their players for the months ahead.

Dunfermline were promoted from League One to the Championship in style last month after winning the title with a 14-point margin. They are now looking ahead to life in the second tier of Scottish football and will anticipate a large crowd when Hearts visit.

The recently-confirmed management team at Tynecastle of Steven Naismith, Frankie McAvoy and Gordon Forrest will get to see their squad in match action ahead of the new Premiership starting on August 5/6.

Hearts will not take part in the Viaplay League Cup group stage because they are one of Scotland’s European representatives, however Dunfermline will be involved. They are in Group F alongside Albion Rovers, Annan Athletic, Kilmarnock and Raith Rovers.

Further pre-season friendlies will be confirmed in due course by Hearts as they prepare for a demanding run of competitive games in August. They begin the Premiership campaign and then enter European competition a few days later.

They start in the third qualifying round of the Europa Conference League, a two-legged tie which takes place on August 10 and 17. From there, they will hope to progress to the play-off round and then potentially the tournament’s group phase which they experienced last season.