No rewards without effort

Nothing comes easily and some hard work is required if you want to achieve your targets. Pre-season training in the heat of Tuscany has been toughest ever endured by midfielder Ian Black as Jim Jefferies wants his squad to be ready for anything when the season starts for real. Jefferies, assistant Billy Brown and first-team coach Gary Locke have been using all the facilities available at the Il Ciocco complex in Tuscany to get the squad fit.

Black knows all about pre-season training and the demands placed on a players body to reach match-fitness in a short period of time. His time at Blackburn Rovers and five years as a player with Inverness Caledonian Thistle taught him what to expect. However, the regime at Hearts set out the strictest sessions he has come across. H said: "It's the hardest pre-season I've certainly done. Previous years have been pretty easy compared to this. It's been extremely hard work but it's all going to pay off in the long term when the season is underway. It is more difficult than Blackburn, although it's a lot different. People have different ideas down south. You play a lot of games and get your match fitness that way. It's just about different ideas and what people are used to. You need to just get your head round it and help everybody through it. We are all working hard and the gaffer's pleased so it augurs well for the weeks and months ahead."