‘I’m loving every minute at Hearts’: Naismith responds to speculation
BRENDAN RODGERS says he has no issue with John Beaton refereeing Celtic games in the future, but he doesn’t regret calling the official out by name following his performance from the VAR room in his side’s defeat to Hearts last weekend.
The Celtic manager repeatedly referenced Beaton in his post-match interviews for the role he played in what Rodgers felt were erroneous and hugely pivotal calls on the day, with Yang Hyun-jun being red carded for a high boot on Alex Cochrane before Tomoki Iwata was penalised for a handball inside the area.
Rodgers was livid at the decisions after the match, and has since been charged by the Scottish FA for his comments on Beaton’s performance, but when asked if he had any regrets about naming the official, Rodgers said: “No. No, we’re all accountable. Everyone knows he was in the VAR. So, it’s not a secret – I haven’t mentioned someone who would never have been known.
“My point was more that it was someone of that experience who looked at it. I wasn’t calling John out for his name to be out there. It was more, ‘This is a top referee managing the game [Robertson] and supposedly a top referee in VAR, under no pressure but they still got it wrong.’ That’s the bigger worry for me.”
It isn’t the first time that Celtic have had issues with Beaton’s officiating, with the referee admitting that the fallout from an Old Firm game at Ibrox he was in charge of during Rodgers’ first spell in Scotland “changed his life”, as he received death threats after failing to send off Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos for any one of a number of offences.
But Rodgers stressed that he isn’t suggesting there is any pattern to Beaton’s handling of Celtic matches, and that he isn’t calling for him not to be able to referee their games going forward. “It shouldn’t be the case and I’m not saying that – I’m talking about one game here,” he said.
‘No issue with Beaton refereeing Celtic games’
STEVEN NAISMITH knows that if he is successful as Heart of Midlothian head coach he will be in the enviable position of being able to be selective with his career path – but as things stand his message is simple: “I’m loving every minute here.”
The Hearts manager has been linked with Championship side Millwall recently, while chairwoman Ann Budge spoke of her desire for him to sign a contract extension.
On the speculation, Naismith noted “it is what it is” but appreciates where he is in his managerial career, both in terms of time and location.
“The reasons I’m doing the job is that I want to be successful, I want to do certain things in the game,” he said. “[If] you’re doing well, inevitably people are going to say stories, but ultimately I’ll decide what I want to do. If I’m successful, I’ll be the one that goes, ‘Right, aye, this is right for me, it’s wrong for me.’
“I’m in my first year of coaching, I’m not naive to think, ‘Oh, just go for the next one.’ If you pick the wrong move, you’re done, simple as that. At the club, it’s a brilliant club. I appreciate everything I’ve got and I’m loving every minute here.”
Even before taking over as the permanent boss in the summer, Naismith, having played under Craig Levein and Robbie Neilson at Tynecastle Park, knew it was the ideal club and environment to be a manager, especially one so young, where stability and longevity are sought after.
“If I’m honest, if there’s ever a club that’s going to be [like] that, and say that, it’s Hearts,” he said. “I think that they’ve shown it in the past. Since I’ve been at the club, the people at the top are just desperate for the club to be successful and, when I speak about that, leave something that’s there that people say, ‘They were the ones that done it.’ That’s all they want, they want it to be a progressive club that can challenge in all aspects, but constantly pushing. I love being part of it, I’ve been part of it for a while, and there has been a vision from day one. The first conversation Ann had with me was, ‘Tell me from your experiences, what’s good, what can we do better?’ That tells you everything you need to know from the first conversation, and as I’ve been at the club I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, it’s given me opportunities, and we’re in a good place.”
Looking to the short term and with Greenock Morton up next in the Scottish Cup at Cappielow on Monday, Naismith wants to bring cup success back to Gorgie. And the former Rangers striker is fully aware of the feeling a trophy win provides.
“I think there is an expectation that you are certainly challenging for them,” he said. “For me, personally, that’s why I am doing it, I want to win trophies. I won trophies as a player and it’s the best memories you’ll have in your life. You can make loads of money, play at the highest level against some of the best players in the world, play international football, but the best memories are winning trophies, without a doubt, as a player. I want to do that as a manager.
“In the first year, to get to two semi-finals is a good starting point – but ultimately I’ll not look back and go, ‘That was good.’ I want to win trophies. It is a drive I have got. It’s a big part of why I am doing it. There are a lot of negatives, the uncertainty of your job, the volatility of the pressure and media scrutiny. All that is a negative of the job. The positive is you can be successful, win trophies and hopefully build something that lasts.”
Meanwhile, Naismith admitted he’s not sure he would want to be a player in this era with how the way the game is being officiated and the rules that come with it.
“Decision-making from referees and VAR needs to be better,” he said. “Have some decisions been given that we don’t like? Yes, but that’s not the referee’s fault. That’s just the fault of the rules of the game. We really need to look at it. If it’s here to stay, we really need to make it better.”