Hearts now face Aberdeen - who have won every game in all competitions this season - at Pittodrie on Sunday, and McGowan says it will show the scale of Hearts' progress. "It is a tricky situation for them - it's a seven or eight-hour flight from Azerbaijan straight to Aberdeen," he said.

Yan Dhanda's 94th-minute header gave managerless Hearts a Conference League win over Dinamo Minsk and brought to an end their dreadful run of form. It looked certain that Hearts' troubles were set to continue - having gone winless in their previous 10 games - after last Saturday's draw with Ross County confirmed their worst ever start to a season.