NAISMITH IS TAKING ONE FOR HIS TEAM
HEARTS captain Steven Naismith last night agreed to take a 50-percent wage cut — and pledged to remain at Tynecastle no matter what division the troubled Edinburgh club are in next season. Last week, owner Ann Budge asked players and staff to accept a mammoth across-the-board drop in salary to stave off the threat of financial disaster in the wake of the coronavirus crisis costing up to £1million in lost revenue.
Sportsmail first revealed that manager Daniel Stendel is willing to work for free to do his part but a number of unhappy first-team stars sought advice from PFA Scotland and asked Budge to reconsider her ultimatum. However, veteran striker Naismith has agreed to the cut and confirmed he will remain a Hearts player even if the Premiership’s rock-bottom outfit start next
season in the Championship. In a statement released last night, Naismith said: ‘Like my teammates, I’ve been thinking a lot about the request from Hearts to reduce our wages by 50 per cent to help the club and protect as many jobs as possible during this uncertain period. ‘I have discussed it at great length with my family. The current circumstances put everyone in a very difficult position but this isn’t a problem of Hearts’ making. ‘My family and I feel that, through a long career, football has been very good to us. I feel that I can and should accept the 50-per-cent reduction in wages. ‘I hope this can contribute to the long-term survival of the club and save jobs, especially those that are the lowest earners and who will be struggling the most at this time. ‘I am making a commitment to stay at Hearts, regardless of which league the club is in next season and look forward to continuing to lead as captain. I consider it an honour.’