Steven Naismith has insisted that he won’t walk away from Hearts – because he believes he can still turn things around at the Tynecastle club.
Hearts lost 2-1 to St Mirren to make it eight successive defeats. The club are rooted at the bottom of the table with audible chants of ‘Naismith, Naismith get to f**k’ chanted during the defeat to Stephen Robinson’s side.
Naismith has accepted that he is realistic enough to know that the increasingly anger of the Hearts support puts pressure on the board to act. However he remains adamant he can get steer the club away from their current predicament.
“The way we’ve worked and the way I’ve worked for the last year, I’ve not seen any change in anybody,” he said. “As I said at the start, I’m realistic, I understand the game. I’m confident that if I get to a point where I really believe that the players aren’t actually listening to me anymore or are interested, I’ll walk away from it. I don’t think I’m at that point. We’ll review the game and work hard to get on to Ross County next week.
“I’ve been there as a player, I’ve been at clubs where the change does have to be the coach. I genuinely don’t believe we’re there. I think the first half an hour of the game we controlled it, we were on the front foot.
“What we’d worked on during the week was seen on the pitch and it was good. It was a good feeling. Just in one of these moments it’s tough. Added to that, these tough moments need to come to an end. If they don’t come to an end, change happens. It’s realistic, it’s understandable. But I think the one thing that’s clear from the players to the coaches to all the way at the board is, everybody does understand the situation. We understand the need to get a win.
“There’s not much I can say that’s going to appease anyone’s frustrations and anger. We started the season without winning a game, so it’s bitterly disappointing. I thought today we started well. We had opportunities, we didn’t take them.
“That final moment is tough. Then two set plays. Back to when I first took over, we were soft at set plays. Today we looked soft at set plays. Ultimately, that’s cost us.
“It’ll be what it’ll be. The one thing I’ve felt my whole time at the club as a player, as a coach and as a manager, is that the board are realistic, they’re sensible, they understand it. They make good decisions, in my opinion.
“They have been in the club for the last five years. That’ll be what it’ll be. I can totally understand the fans’ frustration. The travelling support, the backing we get is fantastic. At the moment, we’re not rewarding that. That’s a big disappointment.
“I think in terms of my job, I love it. I think it’s a brilliant club. I think there’s so much potential. It’s a really tough moment. I’m well aware of it. I understand the pressures and the consequences that come with that. But I still have full belief, if I’m honest.”
Lawrence Shankland is yet to score this season which has compounded matters but Naismith refused to point fingers at any of the players.
“I’m not going to sit here and criticise the players for any of their attitude,” he said. “They’re willing to improve and get better. There’s some young guys in there that are potential. I’ve been there as a player, understanding these moments. it’s tough.
“They’re searching about for answers, but I think us as coaches need to guide them on that. Like I said, it was a really poor run. It’s really frustrating. But again, I can see some positives today. As much as the scoreline says it’s another defeat, I think another day for a better defensive set-up.
“We walk away with at least a draw. If we’re finishing, it’s better to come away with a win. But we’re in a bad place. We need to get out of it as quick as we can. That’s where my head’s at.”
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