Naismith aiming for Hall of Fame
Ambitious Naismith on mission to seal spot in Scotland’s Hall of Fame
CLUB before country. But both on his mind. Steven Naismith has obvious and understandable ambitions to win the five caps that will secure him a place in Scotland’s Hall of Fame.
As he throws himself headlong into a Scottish Cup Edinburgh derby battle at Tynecastle tomorrow, then, the new Hearts signing will be hoping the new national team boss — possibly someone who lives in the capital? — is watching. And taking notes.
Naismith, who made the last of his 45 international appearances in March’s 1-0 World Cup win over Slovenia at Hampden, makes no bones about his remaining ambitions in the game.
‘Hopefully it can extend my Scotland career,’ he said of his loan move from Norwich.
‘I want to get back playing first of all — and then it’s about trying to catch the eye of the new manager, whoever that may be.
‘I didn’t only come back to Hearts for that purpose; just getting back playing was the biggest factor in me deciding.
‘But I do want to give myself the best possible chance to get back involved with Scotland. In all honesty, when I started out, I never thought I’d get anywhere near 50 caps.
‘But then you get into the 40s and you think: “I’ve got a chance of this if I keep doing well.” I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about that.’
In football as in life, timing is almost everything. Naismith re-emerging as an elite attacking threat just as a new gaffer takes over with Scotland would be rather serendipitous, to say the least.
First, of course, the 31-year-old with the wealth of top-level experience has to prove he’s good enough to make a significant impact in Gorgie.
Within the game, there has rarely been so much unanimity about a signing like this.
Notwithstanding his struggle to get anywhere near the first team at Carrow Road these days, everyone seems to agree that Naismith to Hearts is a good deal. With potential to become great.
If nothing else, this just feels like a good fit for a player who has always been part of a ‘proper’ football club — one with history, tradition, a jersey that means something.
‘I said to the manager on Thursday, when I was looking around the stadium and the training ground, that it has a similar feel to a lot of the clubs I’ve been at,’ said Naismith.
‘Being in the museum at Tynecastle and speaking to the guys there, they are really passionate about Hearts and know everything about the club.
‘They are real proper football people — and that carries on the whole way through the club.
‘That makes it much easier to come into a club like that, which has a lot of history and tradition.’
Another familiarity for Naismith will be the presence of a genuine derby that means something to both sets of fans.
In Ayrshire, on Merseyside and then the surprisingly heated environs of East Anglia, he’s grown to understand the importance of local rivalries.
‘It’s a great fixture to start with,’ said the versatile forward, already guaranteed a start by manager Craig Levein.
‘Every team I’ve played with have had a proper derby. I’ve managed to play in them all for every club, so it’ll be great to play in this one. I enjoy the intensity and desire in these games.
‘Growing up as a Rangers fan, it was obviously special to score in an Old Firm game.
‘My first goal for Everton was in the Merseyside derby, too, which probably gained me a bit of time to turn it round with the fans — because I hadn’t had the best of starts up until then.
‘I know exactly what a derby goal would mean, especially if we win. But, if we win 1-0 with big Christophe Berra scoring, I’ll be happy enough with that.’
Naismith knows several of his new team-mates from Scotland duty and is eager to re-establish a strike partnership with former Rangers and Norwich forward Kyle Lafferty, suspended for tomorrow’s game.
What excites him equally is the crop of young players, including 16-year-old midfield wunderkind Harry Cochrane, playing their way into the first team.
Naismith (below) promises to patiently respond to any and all requests for guidance from the boys, saying: ‘I still watch a lot of Scottish football and it’s exciting to see them coming through.
‘When I was younger, I would ask questions all the time because I was hungry to know things.
‘I hope they all have questions. I enjoy that. I warm to people who aren’t shy to ask questions because I was that type.’ No doubt one of the cheeky chaps will ask Naismith whether he had an option to rejoin Rangers, with all the difficulties that might have presented, ahead of Hearts. Way ahead of you, lads.
‘All I would say is that there was interest,’ he said of the Ibrox link. ‘But, until the point where the clubs had agreed, I wasn’t going to get too hyped up about saying I want to do this or that. ‘The fact that one day you will wake up and not be able to play football any more becomes foremost in your thoughts. So it’s about getting back playing and enjoying it.’
And catching the eye of, oh, a certain Northern Irishman who finds it terribly easy to pop along to Tynecastle for a game? It could be quite the added bonus.