Finishing fourth behind Aberdeen WON'T be a failure for Hearts this season. But allowing Hibs to leapfrog them would.
The Jambos can still pip the Dons to third place, but have to hope St Mirren do them a favour at Pittodrie and win if they fail to take anything from their trip to Ibrox to face Rangers. If results go their way, then it gives them the chance to reclaim the best of the rest tag in Saturday's Edinburgh derby, with Aberdeen away at champions Celtic.
James McFadden reckons it won't be a disaster if they miss out and have to settle for the Europa Conference League third qualifying round rather than the group stage. But given that they once had a double digit cushion over their city rivals this season, then falling behind their neighbours wouldn’t be acceptable to the Gorgie faithful. “I think it would be a huge disappointment for Hearts,” he said.
"They finished in third place last season and looked as if they'd strengthened and were going to extend that lead over everyone else in third spot. But it hasn't quite worked out that way. To say it would be a failure, it would depend on where they actually finish. If they finish fourth and it's close to Aberdeen, yes it;s a disappointment and below expectations for Hearts. But I don’t think it’s a huge failure.
“If you then start looking at Hibs - can they pick up the results required to go ahead of them? Any Hearts fan will tell you that any season you finish below your rivals is a failure.
“It’s important that Hearts continue to show the levels of performance and try and get the results that are possible to finish the season as strongly as they can. To finish fourth behind Aberdeen, given the fact they’ve changed manager with an interim in charge, I don;t think that would be a huge failure. But to finish behind Hibs from where they were? That would be a failure.”
Asked if he felt Naismith had done enough to be a serious contender for the job on a permanent basis, Mcfadden told Sky Sports: “I think he has. He hasn't got amazing results, but when he first came in he spoke about how he was going to play and make the team more attack-minded and play on the front foot. You can see that.
“It was a big win at the weekend against Aberdeen that keeps them in the hunt for third place. Steven Naismith said when he came in that they weren’t talking about third place, which I thought was strange because that’s probably the reason why Robbie Neilson lost his job, because it was looking like being out of their reach.
“But Naismith has managed to bring a level of performance and energy, and probably a more attacking style in a short space of time, which puts him in the frame because that’s what fans want to see.
“He;s got players that are performing at a high level so I think he;s done a good job. If you look at performances, do they match up with what the manager is saying? Young coaches can come in and just say whatever they want. ‘We’re going to do this, we’re going to make it attacking’ and it sounds great. But he;s actually backed that up with performances.
“If they finish the season strongly with a couple of victories, then he has put himself right in contention to be the manager.”
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