Naismith thankful for support and patience showed by Hearts chiefs
TWO weeks ago, St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson praised the board of Hearts moments after seeing his team lose 2- 1 at home to the men in maroon.
“I think Steven [ Naismith] has done a fantastic job,” he said. “I have to say, credit to the Hearts board because when you stick by people that’s what happens. Early on in his managerial career people there were giving him stick which I found incredible. He’s proved what a good manager he is.”
Hearts and Naismith had endured an eventful period between their two trips to Paisley, the first a 1- 0 loss in September before the more recent win this month. Early in his tenure as the club’s head coach, his first senior managerial position, he had been doubted. Written off by some. For the club to progress on the pitch a change had to be made in the dugout.
Supporters pointed to his lack of experience and to comments made by the club’s chief executive, Andrew McKinlay, following the parting of ways with Robbie Neilson and to Naismith’s own comments about attacking football.
Days after the loss at St Mirren fans unfurled a less- thancomplimentary banner directed at the club’s board. External noise and pressure appeared to ramp up ahead of a trip to Fir Park and the final international break of the season.
The board, though, showed calmness and belief in Naismith. And he credits that support and patience to allow people to develop as being “massive”.
“I can’t emphasise enough how big that’s been,” he said. “I think if I’d had the interim job and getting to the summer, at most other clubs you probably don’t get thought about for the job permanently. That only happens here, for me.
“I think in the first two or three months, the outside noise could have played a part. It didn’t because internally it was very comfortable and everybody believed what I was telling them. That has transpired, which is good.”
There was plenty of pressure from the outside, plenty of opinions expressed and a great deal of impatience. The person who was perhaps the most relaxed was in the dugout. Naismith is aware of the “reality” of being a manager and “can’t grumble” about the shorttermism associated with being a coach even if he does not think it is right. He thinks that his “experience as a player” helped him “deal with that better than others in the job”.
That experience also helped him understand the fortunate position he had been promoted into. A stable club that is more likely to give managers time compared to many others. But also the infrastructure behind the scenes, everything from recruitment to the academy.
“I could have taken another job without that backing and I am having to do everything and then something has to compromise, as I have spoken about how intense it is,” he said. “That is without dipping into these other areas of the club that many other managers have to.
“I’ve had a lot of help but it’s been a collective all the way through. That is why we are in this position because we have a good strong board with people at the top who only want the best for the club and can see the bigger picture.”
The bigger picture, as Naismith sees it, is long- term growth and success rather than chasing short- term wins. He has talked of wanting to be part of something that delivers on the pitch but has a lasting effect off it. That can be with the way the squad evolves. The way the academy feeds into the first team. The way the team prepare. The way the club operate on a day- today basis at the Oriam.
He reckons clubs have to push through the “pain” of initial struggles with new managers to get out the other end. Once there, foundations can be put in place. Essentially, you survive before you can thrive. Hearts, in his view, have gone through that stage and are in a better place to make strides forward.
“Most clubs now that go through that pain inevitably have a bit of success,” Naismith said. “Then the appointment becomes a good appointment. It’s the ones who are trigger- happy and have three, four, five managers relatively quickly, you are never getting off stage one. You aren’t getting that foundation built and to build upon. We are hopefully through that point now on all aspects of recruitment, the way we work, the way we are playing, getting youth through.”