Robbie Neilson admits his job as Hearts boss has been made harder this season by his 'top-end' players pushing for places.
Jambos have started the season unbeaten having already beaten the likes of Celtic, Dundee Utd and Livingston.
Neilson has been delighted with his stars' efforts and heaped praise on the talent he has now in his squad.
And he says the competition keeps him up at night at the thought of having to pick the players to drop for big matches.
"It's night and day compared to last season,” he said. “We now have two goalies competing, plus 18 first-team players who are all top-end Premiership standard.
"That makes my job quite difficult because at times I need to leave two of them out.
“However, it brings competition to training and lifts the standard of training.
"On the pitch, you need to play well enough to stay on the pitch because we have options.
“On Saturday, we brought on Armand Gnanduillet, Gary Mackay-Steven, Andy Halliday and Peter Haring.
"We still had Aaron McEneff sitting on the bench, Jamie Walker on the bench – both top-end Premiership players who can change a game for you.”
