STEVEN NAISMITH’S candour remains one of his most admirable attributes. Most players you suspect would rather be disembowelled with a rusty nail than lift the veil on what happens inside the inner sanctum of the dressing room but Naismith, mercifully, isn’t one of them.
The Scotland forward’s expected return from injury in this afternoon’s Edinburgh derby at Easter Road ought to serve as a timely and welcome boost for Craig Levein whose unpopularity grows by the day. Defeat to rivals Hibernian will only add to the supporters’ heightening sense of antagonism.
According to Naismith, however, the Hearts manager can at least still count on the support of one particular group. Players will always publicly scoff at the idea that a manager can “lose the dressing room” but Naismith, as befits his frank manner, admitted it does and has happened. The Hearts players, though, he insists are still standing firmly behind their manager and remain confident he can keep this sinking ship afloat.
“When Alex Neil left Norwich it was a different environment,” he said of his former club. “Players weren’t happy with the manager but were on a good contract and just weren’t trying. There were others who weren’t part of his plans. But I don’t think that’s the case here. The players are still behind him and everyone is focused on the job in hand and trying to make a difference.
“There are a lot of boys in the squad who owe the manager. He has put a lot of faith in them, whether that is by giving them a new contract or by bringing them to the club in the first place. We need to get more from some of them in the coming games to ease the pressure and help kick-start our season.”
Naismith feels Levein’s commitment to Hearts in both his roles – director of football and manager – can’t be called into question, revealing that Levein still takes a hands-on approach to prosaic matters like meeting with the parents of teenage prospects.
“The manager knows what is needed here and his love for the club is huge,” he added. “Everything in football is about Hearts with him. Because of results some fans are saying he isn’t trying his best or that he isn’t good for the club. That is hard to hear because we know that in the background he is doing all he can.
“He spends the majority of his week here, whether that’s with the first team, academy, or on the business side of the club. He only wants the best for Hearts.”
More than 1000 fans made clear their unhappiness with the team’s struggles after last week’s defeat to Motherwell. Naismith said the impromptu demonstration didn’t surprise him as he has come to learn how vast the expectation is around Tynecastle.
“Hearts are a big club – bigger than I thought before I signed – and there is a big demand here,” he said. “As a player you need to know that and either deal with it or not. It is what will make or break you at Hearts. The prime example was last season. We won nine of the first 10 games but then we played Livingston at home and at half time we were drawing and the fans were booing.
“It is not that the fans are against the players. It is a frustration because they expect us to be challenging and I understand that. I agree that we should be at the top of the league. So the start to the season hasn’t been good enough.”
Injuries have plagued Naismith to the point that he has yet to complete a full 90 minutes this season. But the 33-year-old has declared himself fit to be involved at Easter Road and wants to do his best to help keep Levein in a job.
“The manager has put a lot of faith in me and I know what he expects to get out of me in terms of performance and the way I am around the place,” he added. “Not being able to get on the pitch hasn’t been good enough but the plan is to be back involved today.
“The Edinburgh derby is up there in terms of passion with others I’ve played in but on a smaller scale. I have really enjoyed them. There is an edge to them. This one will be quite different because both teams haven’t started the season well. The fans aren’t going be happy with whichever team doesn’t do as well in the first half-an-hour so it will have a different edge.”
Levein revealed he is considering eventually giving up his manager’s role but won’t do so until the team is performing a lot better.
“My reason for coming back to the manager’s job was to try to get everything calm and moving forward again,” he said. “I felt at the time we were under a wee bit of pressure and wanted to get the club back on a solid footing.
“I wanted to get us into the top four of the table on a regular basis. And then I would consider what to do after that. But we’ve not managed to do that yet so I’ve still got some work to do. Stepping back after that is a possibility but not one I’d like to talk too much about right now.”
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