Hearts will not enter the Intertoto Cup next season, preferring to focus on preparing a sustained assault on the SPL.

A terrible start to the 2007/8 campaign has been clawed back in recent months but Hearts still trail fifth-placed Hibernian by six points and a UEFA cup berth by eight.

"Before anything else the number one priority for Hearts pre-season is ensuring the most effective preparation," Managing director Campbell Ogilvie told the club website. "In future years we might consider the opportunity to participate in a tournament such as the Intertoto Cup, as it offers an excellent route to the UEFA Cup, or another major international friendly such as last year's game against Barcelona which was attended by 58,000 supporters.

"However, our strong feeling was that our pre-season had to offer the best opportunity to be ready for the start of the new campaign. My colleagues in the football department have led the way in these recommendations, and as a club Hearts is entirely behind the rationale involved.

"2008-09 is a very important season in the history of Hearts, and everything we do must be right."

Bosnia winger Mirsad Beslija, meanwhile, is set to return to Hearts after Belgian club Sint-Truiden admitted they could not afford a permanent transfer.

"He is too expensive for us," Sint-Truiden president Roland Duchatelet told the Evening News. "His wages are very high and that is just one of the problems.

"It's a matter of money because there would also be a transfer fee involved if we wanted to keep Mirsad."

Beslija, 28, joined Hearts from Genk in 2006 but has only played 13 times for the club due to injury, issues that have continued on his return to Belgium, where he has not played since the New Year due to an ankle problem.

Reda Maher / Eurosport