SIGHS ON THE PRIZE
Naismith admits stuttering Jambos are crawling over the line for title
Robbie Neilson’s league leaders failed to win for the fourth game on the bounce after another stodgy stalemate.
Naismith has had to sit and watch his team-mates stutter over the last few weeks and only returned to action as a secondhalf sub against the Pars.
The Tynecastle team remain 11 points clear at the top and nailed on for a top flight return.
But it’s become a crawl rather than a cruise to the finish line and Naismith said: “It has been really tough. Recent results haven’t been good enough.
“The bigger disappointment is, because we have the lead in the league, the cups are the ones you look at.
“Our record before that was four semi-finals and two finals, and then we do what we did in the Scottish Cup final earlier in the season.
“There’s an expectation there, a level we should be performing at, and it’s not been there. That’s really poor and it has not been good enough.
“In recent performances the quality has not been good enough, that’s the problem.
“We’ve still got a point here and that’s us a point closer to the title but you want to be enjoying this part of the season, because so much hard work has gone into it.
“The more results haven’t gone our way the more players have started to become a bit more safe with our passes.
“As a footballer I have been in those situations and it’s tough to play freely.”
It seems bizarre confidence is so low for a team in Hearts’ position, and even for a serial winner like Naismith, being so far ahead is a new experience.
Questions have been asked of the pre-season title favourites as teams have looked to frustrate and too often, Hearts haven’t found the answers.
Naismith has warned they’ll need to find them against tougher questions next season.
He added: “The titles I have won have always been a twohorse race, I have never been in a situation where my team has been 10 points clear at the top.
“Someone looking from afar would think it’s strange a team could be top of the league and low in confidence but I have been at this club long enough, I know what the demands are.
“We’re coming up against teams who are sitting in every week, but that’s not going to change next season if we get into the Premiership. Six, seven teams are going to come to Tynecastle and do that as well.
“Dunfermline did it, they sat deep, gave up three-quarters of the pitch, and then they are just waiting on a mistake. That’s where we have been making too many bad decisions that have cost us in previous games.”
If Stevie Crawford’s side had their shooting boots on, Hearts would have been in serious bother.
Scott Banks was guilty of missing a sitter before Craig Gordon denied Kevin O’Hara.
Vytas Gaspuitis rattled the bar from a corner after the break before Hearts woke up.
Liam Boyce saw a good header saved by Owain FonWilliams, and two strong penalty appeals for the Jambos were turned down.
Despite being on the back foot, Dunfermline would have won it with a late Euan Murray header, but it was Gordon to the rescue again with a fine reaction save to ensure it finished goalless.