Four years on from lifting the League Two title, Plymouth will be competing in the second tier of English football after being crowned champions of League One last season.
The Pilgrims managed to fend of stiff competition from title rivals Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday to finish at the summit of League One with 101 points after winning 31 of their 46 league matches.
Steven Schumacher was named League One Manager of the Season after leading Plymouth back to the Championship for the first time in 13 years, and the 39-year-old is hopeful of building a squad capable of maintaining their second-tier status in 2023-24.
Plymouth returned from their summer break at the end of June before travelling to Marbella for warm-weather training, with Schumacher’s men having been put through their paces since Monday ahead of Thursday’s friendly clash with Hearts.
The Pilgrims, who drew 0-0 with Hearts in their last pre-season meeting in Edinburgh back in 2009, are scheduled to face Plymouth Parkway, Torquay United, Forest Green Rovers, Salford City and Swindon Town in England before they begin the new season at home against Huddersfield Town on August 5.
After finishing third in the Scottish Premiership in 2021-22, Hearts had to settle for fourth place in the top flight last season, accumulating seven points fewer than the previous campaign.
The Jam Tarts were seemingly on course to secure third spot, but they eventually finished three points behind third-placed Aberdeen following a poor run of just two victories in their final 11 matches, which ultimately brought an end to Robbie Neilson’s three-year managerial reign at Tynecastle.
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Steven Naismith was placed in temporary charge at the end of April and he has since been appointed as the club’s technical director because his lack of a UEFA Pro Licence means that Hearts cannot name the 36-year-old as either a manager or head coach.
Naismith cannot begin to obtain his licence until next year, but in the meantime he will prepare his Hearts side for pre-season matches against Plymouth, Dunfermline Athletic, Dunbar United and Leeds United before their opening Premiership fixture of the new season away against St Johnstone on August 5.
Hearts also have Europa Conference League action to look forward to and they will discover their third-round qualifier opponents later this month
