DON’T JUDGE ME ON DERBY SHOWDOWN ALONE...
Naismith urges Hearts hierarchy to look at the bigger picture as he targets permanent role
STEVEN NAISMITH is potentially 90 minutes plus added time away from steering Hearts to fourth place and a second successive season in European football.
As for whether or not he succeeds Robbie Neilson on a permanent basis, the Tynecastle interim boss insists it should not be solely down to whether he wins today’s huge Edinburgh derby with Hibs.
There is certainly plenty at stake in this winner-takes-all capital clash. Victory at the home of their old rivals would see the Easter Road club claim fourth and a place in Europe for themselves.
Insisting he is happy with how he has handled his Hearts managerial audition, despite failing to reel in third-placed Aberdeen, Naismith hopes the club’s board looks at all he has done since taking the reins temporarily last month.
‘It’s important just like the other results have been important,’ said Naismith. ‘But if I am getting judged on one game, I don’t think it’s the right approach to take.
‘I think bigger picture, you’ve got to look at everything. The club needs to understand what they want in their next manager, what they want longer term.
‘Since I have been at the club, I have had an understanding that the club needs attacking football, they need an identity and they need to have something that’s bigger. That’s what I believe and that’s what I have tried to do in the seven weeks since I have taken over.
‘You’ve got to add in the fact you need to get results or you’re giving yourself no chance. You have to show what type of coach and manager you are in terms of style. But you can’t just go full-on doing that because you might make mistakes and cost yourself results.
‘So it’s a fine balance but I think I have equipped myself very well. I think I have (left everything out there).’
Celtic coach John Kennedy and former Middlesbrough and Watford boss Chris Wilder have both been linked with the Tynecastle post. And Naismith knows Hearts would be foolish if they weren’t working in the background to have all bases covered.
He said: ‘I’m not naive to think they will be sitting going: “Right, we will see what happens at the end of the season and then make a decision”, and then they will go through a recruitment process if there’s a new manager coming in.
‘I’d imagine they will have all their ducks in a row and know who they want to pursue, whether that’s one, two or three candidates.
‘I haven’t been given an exact time frame other than at the end of the season we will sit down and talk. So I expect to speak to the club after this weekend. Is it going to be that night or Sunday? I couldn’t tell you. But it will be a conversation that we will have.’
It has been a rollercoaster seven weeks for Naismith. The big lows have been losing 1-0 to Hibs at
Easter Road in his first match and being unable to catch Aberdeen, therefore missing out on the £5million jackpot that accompanies guaranteed European group stage football if Celtic win the Scottish Cup.
Whatever happens next, the ex-Scotland striker feels convinced being a boss is his future after management lit the same fire inside him that he had while starring for Kilmarnock, Rangers, Everton, Norwich and Hearts.
‘I have loved it. It is the closest I have come to having the buzz I got as a player,’ he said.
‘In some respects, since I retired, I’ve not missed playing at all. I have enjoyed my life and I’ve been under less pressure but then, having this, I have really enjoyed it.
‘In short, it makes me feel that I am on the right path towards what I want to do.
‘It is tough, really tough to have that same sense of purpose (as when playing), but this has given me the belief that I do know what I want to do.’
A 2-2 draw at Ibrox on Wednesday ended hopes of retaining third but today’s huge Edinburgh derby will allow the Hearts players an opportunity to swiftly banish their disappointment.
Naismith looks to the twin high watermarks of his reign, beating Ross County 6-1 and Aberdeen 2-1, as cause for optimism ahead of the final big match of the season at Tynecastle.
‘There was disappointment after the Rangers game but that’s because the boys are hungry to be successful and want to do well,’ he added. ‘But coming back and being ready for the next game, there’s not much lingering disappointment, to be honest.
The boys are switched on to this game. It’s a big game because it’s a derby. But the six games I have taken previously, at each stage they have all been significant.
‘The two I would pinpoint to be similar are Ross County and Aberdeen. Against Ross County, we came off the back of a defeat (at Hibs) and the squad’s confidence was as low as it was going to be.
‘Everybody is sitting there thinking: “Is he good enough to get this squad out of the rut?”. So County was a big game and we performed perfectly. It was a great scoreline and all the stats say it was a great performance as well.
‘The next big moment is Aberdeen because it was a must-win game for us. We went a goal behind and it was a brilliant performance.
‘So, for me, this match is the exact same as those two games.
‘It’s a big game, with big pressure, but a lot of games at Hearts are big pressure.
‘And I think the fact it’s at Tynecastle helps. Our performances at home have been really good since I took over.’
This is the closest I have come to the buzz I got as a player