Steven Naismith he won’t allow a vow from Robert Snodgrass to spill the beans on his shock Hearts exit distract from his task of trying to guide his side to a third place finish in the Scottish Premiership.
Naismith took over as interim boss following the sacking of Robbie Neilson and Lee McCulloch and immediately showed his former Scotland team-mate Snodgrass the door. The 35-year-old took to social media on Thursday morning to say he was “gutted and disappointed” and promised to tell his side of the story when the time was right.
The Jambos have lost six games in a row in all competition and have slipped back to fourth place in the Premiership, five points behind Aberdeen, but Naismith insists all the focus is on beating bottom side Ross County on Saturday. He said: “The only time it has been mentioned is right here, right now. I don't think it is a distraction. We have moved on, the focus is on the game, trying to get results and that's where we are at, at the moment, it is definitely not a distraction.
"It is as we were when I spoke to him. He is disappointed but there is not much more to say. The decision was made, I spoke to Snoddy, I could tell he was disappointed but we move on, we need to win games, we need to be in the mix and that's where we are at.”
Snodgrass hinted there was a lack of unity in the Gorgie dressing room when he said: “The previous six weeks had been a real challenge for us all. But that's when a team sticks together, digs in and fights for the guy next to you.”
But Naismith - who revealed Michael Smith is “probably going to be out for weeks” with a hamstring problem - insists there is unity at the Edinburgh club. He said: "Since I took over, there is a togetherness; the club, the players, the squad. I have been there myself. There is a disappointment when there is change because effectively everyone who has been in this dressing room and been around the club have been the ones to contribute to that. So change has happened.
“There has not been one moment when a player has not given me 100 per cent or strived to get better, try to improve, do what we want them to do. So I am happy with the squad and the biggest thing now is getting results.”
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