Naismith admits confidence and quality are missing
AFTER stumbling a point closer to the Championship title, embattled manager Robbie Neilson was yet again keen to accentuate the fact Hearts remain on course to achieve their target of promotion.
However, given the 11-point advantage the Tynecastle side now enjoy after their 0-0 stalemate at Dunfermline, it is only natural that thoughts turn towards what thereafter.
Fans enraged by the woeful Scottish Cup exit to Brora Rangers, an embarrassing lapse compounded by defeat in the league to Queen of the South, have called for the removal of Neilson, and even chairman and owner, for now, Ann Budge. The argument goes that, on current form, they will be relegation fodder in the Premiership.
As far as supporters of the head coach are concerned, will happen protests over the performances of a team running away with the league are incongruous.
The last time Neilson swept to the Championship title with Hearts, players were jettisoned before enjoying the fruits of their labour and it is fair to assume there will be a similar revamp this summer.
Steven Naismith, whose second-half introduction helped spark some life into an insipid display against Dunfermline, is clear there must be a transformation if high expectations are to be met next season.
“I think someone looking from afar would think it’s strange a team could be top of the league and low in confidence,” he said. “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. That’s what we need to become better at.
“Dunfermline did it, they sat deep, they gave up three quarters of the pitch, and then they are just waiting on a mistake. And that’s where we have been making too many bad decisions that have cost us in previous games.”
“There’s an expectation there, a level we should be performing at. It’s not been there and that’s really poor and it has not been good enough. In recent performances, the quality has not been good enough, that has been the problem.”