Naismith responds to interest from England
London club said to have Hearts boss in sights
Steven Naismith has responded to reported interest from England on the back of his recent progress with Hearts.
The Tynecastle head coach is aware of reports linking him to EFL Championship side Millwall, although he has not been contacted by anyone from The Den.
A report stating Millwall and other English clubs are keeping tabs on him appeared online on Tuesday. Millwall appointed a new manager just last month when Neil Harris returned to Bermondsey on a contract until summer 2025.
"Since I've retired from playing, I've had a picture of the route I want to take and what I want to do," said Naismith.
"Through my playing career, I had an understanding of the steps to take to be successful. This is my first year taking a team at senior level. It's the first step and it's probably a big first step.
"I could have made a choice to take an easier first step regarding the demand and size of club. I'm enjoying every minute of it at Hearts, and our focus is on being successful. You get linked and your name gets put towards different stories at times. That either happens when you are doing really poorly and you're due the sack, or you are doing really well and people are noticing. In some respects it's nice to see, but I'm not really taking much notice of it.
"I'm at the very early stages of my managerial career. It takes time to get your point across and get your understanding of the players. We are in a good moment and we've done loads of hard work to get to this point. I want to continue that. The uncertainty of the football world is there and that is what it is, but I've experienced enough of it to understand what is good for me and what is not."