Good luck to Steven Naismith and Frankie McAvoy as they take the reins at Tynecastle for the remainder of the season.
I sincerely hope they do the job required and are able to salvage the third spot that somehow Hearts have managed to throw away. I have to say this though – it’s the wrong decision. If this was just to see the season out and give Naismith experience then fine. But there’s so much on the line for Hearts as they look to grab that third spot back. One man above all others has the key to the £5million European ticket – Gary Locke.
It might surprise you to hear me say this but I can understand why the board decided to end Robbie Neilson’s stint in charge after Saturday’s defeat by St Mirren. But it will only be the right move if the succession plan has the right man lined up to take over even in the short term. No harm to Naismith as I believe he will go on to be a good manager later in his career. I like the way he conducts himself and he was a great player. He seems well respected in his job taking the youths and the B team.
But right now, with seven games to go, it’s about finishing third. That’s the be-all. And regardless of all the experience Naismith has as a player it’s a massive risk to hand him the reins.
Hearts need a ready-made figurehead. Someone who knows how to walk into the heat of battle at Easter Road on Saturday and body Hibs in their own backyard.
Someone who knows what it means to represent Hearts. And someone who, when the going gets tough, will get the players to fight tooth, nail, blood and thunder for three points.
That man was Locke. A former team-mate and manager of mine who I reckon must have as good a record at Easter Road with Hearts than anyone, he is a diehard, he is in with the bricks there as a former player, captain, manager and now as ambassador.
This isn’t just about him being a Hearts man though. More than anything – and I mean this – he is a ridiculously good coach. The way he is as a person, the sessions he puts on and his understanding of the game, he’s got it all. If anyone can walk into a dressing room and get a reaction out of the players, the fans, everybody then it’s Locke.
I listened to Robbie on Saturday when he said they’d lost a lot of headers, never won the battle or picked up second balls. Well Lockey is all that, he was a terrific player but first and foremost he was a fighter and as boss made sure his players were the same.
If he was in charge for Saturday’s trip across the city I’d put good money on a Hearts win. And that one result would be the perfect springboard for the last six games.
With Naismith I just see it as a complete shot in the dark. It makes the decision to sack Robbie seem like a knee-jerk reaction with no proper succession plan in place.
I do understand the decision to pull the trigger. Performances had been getting worse and results over the past month or two were woeful. Hearts have now dropped to fourth and if they don’t manage to get into third by the end of the season it will be a disaster.
It’s fine playing nice football, out from the back, but when backs are against the wall the Hearts way was always blood, thunder and guts and giving absolutely everything for the fans.
As John Cumming famously said “blood doesn’t show on a maroon jersey”. It’s about fighting for the club and the supporters. And it’s absolutely required now.
The fans have put so much in to help the club survive and now thrive. But the longer this bad run has gone on then the more the supporters weren’t seeing that fight.
That’s not saying the players weren’t trying. I just think they never went about certain games the right way. Like at Kilmarnock when it required a straightforward, sleeves-up battle.
Who should get the gig long- term? I’ve no idea, it has to be someone who understands the club and the fans. Hearts are unique.
We’ve seen when managers and players come in and don’t understand those two factors and it ends disastrously. Robbie had that understanding.
I do feel for him. I hope the majority of fans remember they’ve had fabulous times under his stewardship. Two Championship titles, two Scottish Cup Finals, two third place finishes, the Euro run - all good achievements.
But getting the sack is the nature of the beast. Because they were so comfortable in third and have relinquished that to Aberdeen then it was almost inevitable. The next permanent appointment is massive if Hearts are to kick on.
