Steven Naismith admits he has not been frightened to put his own stamp on Hearts, describing how he has made ‘loads of changes’ to transform a team that had been ‘coasting’ amid a five-game losing run.
The Hearts interim manager, who has stepped up from his B team role, inherited a team from the sacked Robbie Neilson earlier this week that had slipped to fourth in the Premiership.
Prior to the recent barren run, Hearts had been on track to record successive third place finishes, a feat that brings with it a £5 million windfall through guaranteed European group stage football.
The former Hearts, Rangers, Everton, Norwich City and Scotland striker, however, saw the need to make wholesale alterations behind the scenes ahead of his maiden stint in the dugout at Easter Road in Saturday’s derby with Hibernian.
One of those has been the decision to inform experienced midfielder Robert Snodgrass that he will now longer be part of the squad for the remaining seven games.
“I’ve made loads of changes,” said Naismith, who turned to coaching at Hearts in 2021 after retiring from the game.
“To give us the best chance, everything needed changed; from the way meetings are run, the look of meetings, the way training is run, everything like that.”
Naismith spoke about opening up a clear pathway for promising youngsters but whether any get a chance to impress as the club chase third place remains to be seen.
As for the current first team regulars, Naismith expects more from them on the pitch as they look to get their stuttering campaign back on track.
He added: “We need to enjoy it. The biggest thing is enjoying it.
“From what I have seen, from the players I know and have played with, in the three days I have been here, there are really good players here, better than I thought.
“But the first thing I said to the players is: ‘The last six weeks, we’ve coasted. And that’s why you’ve not got a good points gap.
“Because you have coasted along, and been safe, and why have you been safe?
“Because you have felt uncomfortable and you have not enjoyed being in the atmosphere on the pitch.
“So strip all that out, get to the point where you just enjoy it and you’re not thinking about what you’re going to do’.
“That’s what we need to get back to, because see for the last 18 months, they have played at that level and it has been brilliant, they haven’t turned into bad players.
“So it’s an issue of getting rid of any baggage, any feeling of being safe. Safe is the word I have kept using.”
After initially admitting in a club interview on Wednesday that a lack of game time in the remaining games was part of the decision to allow Snodgrass to leave, Naismith intimidated there were other factors involved.
He added: “Snoddy was disappointed and probably feels let down by me. But I was honest with him.
“It's a decision which was made and hopefully as this moves on everyone can see it's either the right decision or the wrong decision, time will tell, but that's the decision that was made.”
Asked why he thought Snodgrass’ game time would be limited, he added: “Just all round. There is a suspension coming up, there's things like that. There were so many aspects to it that it's hard to say, and that's it.
"For me, Snoddy is a great guy. He's a really great player who has played at the highest level. I get all that.
“In this moment you need to make calls and this decision has been made.”
While Naismith hopes his stint in the dugout could lead to his permanent appointment, he concedes the experience could also see him preferring to return to his B team position.
"This is a great opportunity to try something that I want to do and if it works and everybody is happy then it might continue," said the 36-year-old.
"If it doesn’t, then I go to an amazing situation I was in before.
"That’s how I’ve seen it and that’s how the club see it."
Naismith, meanwhile, has revealed how he has used Scotland manager Steve Clarke as a sounding board for a first week in management that he describes as a ‘whirlwind’.
Naismith, who is also part of the national team backroom staff, added: “I spoke to him at the start of the week. It was good.
“For the last year and half with Scotland, probably every day I’ve been with him I’ve asked him a question about something to do with being a manager or coach.
“I’m going to have a conversation with him later on because we’d planned that with times and stuff.
“But he’s been amazing with me. He gave me that opportunity as a coach to go with the national team. I saw the opportunity and took it.
“I could have been there for one trip but I’ve been there ever since. That’s what he did for me. I’ve got a lot respect for him.
“I’ve learned so much from him and I continue to learn.”
Having worked under the likes of David Moyes and Roberto Martinez in his career, Naismith is not short of managers he can call on for advice.
“As with all the other managers I’ve had, I’ve asked questions and found out details of why they do or don’t do certain things,” he added.
“That’s why I feel I’m equipped. It’s not been the last year or two since I retired. It’s been my whole career.”
