NAISMITH TO LEAD REVIVAL BY EXAMPLE

STEVEN NAISMITH vowed to lead Hearts away from relegation trouble after kicking off his captaincy of the club with a

5-0 William Hill Scottish Cup drubbing of Airdrieonians.

Naismith, who replaced the exiled Christophe Berra as skipper, was one of the scorers in the rout which marked a first win of the Daniel Stendel era at the sixth attempt.

With Stendel convinced that confidence has lifted, Hearts head for Dingwall on Wednesday for the return of league business and the bid to bridge a five-point deficit at the foot of the Premiership table.

When asked if he could now help his German head coach guide Hearts away from their desperate plight, Naismith replied: ‘Without a doubt. That’s got to happen, the minimum requirement.

‘The club definitely didn’t expect to be here, but we are. The hard work starts now.

‘The boys have a bit more confidence. I don’t think the two weeks since the break could have gone any better in terms of the players buying into what the manager wants.

‘The proof is doing it in the games and this is a good starting point. Every box is ticked — we won the game, won it professionally, we made it a good afternoon. That’s got to continue.’

Berra was stripped of the armband by Stendel in a series of no-nonsense decisions made during the winter shutdown.

The Scotland international has been told he can join another club and follow Glenn Whelan and coach Jon Daly out of Tynecastle. Jake Mulraney and Craig Wighton are also surplus to Stendel’s requirements.

On taking over from Berra, Naismith said: ‘I’ve been at clubs where the exact same thing happened. Not in terms of me taking over but players dropping out and there has to be a change.

‘Christophe will be the first to say that it’s football and that’s what can happen. The club have backed the manager and us as players have to do that as well.’

Naismith has suffered a stop-start season through injury, but the 33-year-old hopes to have now turned the corner.

He said: ‘I’ve got to make sure I am fit and ready now. It probably makes the job of the younger players in the team easier.

‘A lot of the spirit comes from those young boys getting the chance, and they are buying into what the manager wants.’