Steven Naismith expects crunch talks over his Hearts future next week - and admits a win at Ibrox on Wednesday would be a huge boost to his chances of landing the boss gig permanently.
The Tynecastle side reignited their hopes of finishing third with a 2-1 over Aberdeen in Saturday’s Euro showdown in Gorgie. That closed the gap on the Dons to two points ahead of massive clashes away to Rangers and at home to Hibs in the next five days.
Following Robbie Neilson ’s sacking in March Jambos chief executive Andrew McKinlay voiced his frustration at his club’s failure to “lay a glove on Rangers” during his spell at Tynecastle. In fact it’s been nine years since Hearts last took three points at Ibrox. However Naismith is refusing to label tomorrow’s trip to Govan as ‘must win’ even though he knows it would be a massive shot in the arm for his own job prospects.
The interim boss, who has two wins and a draw from his five games in charge, said: “Have I had any discussion with the board? None at all. And realistically this week there’s no time.
“We may as well wait until after the season. After Saturday that’s it done and the players get some rest or go away for internationals and that’s the right time to have the conversation. Beating Rangers wouldn’t do my chances any harm but I feel I’ve been trying to make a statement with every game we’ve played.
“It’s not been perfect with results but there’s definitely been a clear shift in how we play. What I want is to try and make the club much more attacking and be a threat to other teams. That’s the big thing I focus on.
“If we want to be successful long term you need to compete in every game and that starts on Wednesday. It’s not a must-win. It would be silly to say it is.
“You might then come flying out the traps and then you lose the game and still only be two points behind. We will manage it the way we want to but we will go to win the game and cause Rangers problems.”
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