Steven Naismith ( merged )

[Hearts1975]

We will take points out of the next 3 games. That said, I don't think we will win all three games either. 

I just hope some remember where we are now, and we don't 

hark back to barking on about sacking the manager, depending on how the results pan out.

He has done enough, more than enough, and for the support to get right behind him, and the players. 

And that includes any sticky spells, poor results or loss of form. 

Would be great if we could really start building something special, and longer term, without ripping up, and finding the need to start again.

Confidence is brimming. Let's try and keep it that way.    

[Geddyalexneil]

Just seen an interview with Naismith via The Evening News talking about Tagawa. The bit I appreciated the most and says a lot about Naismith as a manager/coach is where he takes responsibility for Tagawa not being as effective in his performance against Aidrie and his positioning in the game. He says in the piece "It's probably my mistake in terms of getting that point across to him before he goes on the pitch. I felt he found himself in the wider areas too much when we had the ball against Airdrie, but I would say that's more my mistake than his."

He also says that the club still have high hopes that he can make it here and that some players take a bit of time adjusting. 

I think this shows the sort of guy he is and probably why the players all look like they want to play for him.

 

[HopeDiouf]

Gordon Forrest and Frank McAvoy were getting a lot of stick earlier in the season, when results weren't so great.  McAvoy in particular got A LOT of stick when he was nominally in charge.  Think it's worth acknowledging that all 3 are part of the team doing a great job.

Think I read Forrest in charge of attacking tactics, and McAvoy the defensive side?

[TheBigO]

On 19/02/2024 at 10:19, h-e-a-r-t-s said:

Everton will come calling if they go down Sean Dyche gets a new gig, get him tied down now

Na, I don't think so, they'd need to go big name.  They couldn't take any chances whatsoever.

 

I think Naisy is a very pragmatic and ambitious guy and I've no doubt he has an ideal career path.  Does he do what others have done and jump at the first job which comes up in England, fail at some nomark club and scramble about for the next 20 years?  Or does he learn his trade properly, get the European experience under his belt properly, grow this team, really "use us" as his apprenticeship?

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see Naisy getting interest, but I also wouldn't be surprised for him to show very little interest at this stage.  Perhaps end of next season...

 

It's essentially the same thing he's telling Beni and others isn't it. Or James Wilson.  This is a great club to get great experience at a good level and pick the right option when you've earnt it.

[Chimp]

8 minutes ago, TheBigO said:

Na, I don't think so, they'd need to go big name.  They couldn't take any chances whatsoever.

 

I think Naisy is a very pragmatic and ambitious guy and I've no doubt he has an ideal career path.  Does he do what others have done and jump at the first job which comes up in England, fail at some nomark club and scramble about for the next 20 years?  Or does he learn his trade properly, get the European experience under his belt properly, grow this team, really "use us" as his apprenticeship?

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see Naisy getting interest, but I also wouldn't be surprised for him to show very little interest at this stage.  Perhaps end of next season...

 

It's essentially the same thing he's telling Beni and others isn't it. Or James Wilson.  This is a great club to get great experience at a good level and pick the right option when you've earnt it.

 

Yep, Naisy is clever enough to know he needs to stay here and learn his trade. He'll know the importance of gaining experience and being ready to make the step up at the right time if the chance comes in future.

[TheBigO]

14 minutes ago, Chimp said:

 

Yep, Naisy is clever enough to know he needs to stay here and learn his trade. He'll know the importance of gaining experience and being ready to make the step up at the right time if the chance comes in future.

I'm quite sure of it.  Look, you never know and I guess the devil's advo is that he probably would have wanted another year before taking our job but took the "chance".  But then double devil advo is that THAT plays into our hands too.  He's doing this before he might liked to have so may feel even more strongly he needs to get really solid before any move.

 

Who knows!

[RustyRightPeg]

32 minutes ago, TheBigO said:

Na, I don't think so, they'd need to go big name.  They couldn't take any chances whatsoever.

 

I think Naisy is a very pragmatic and ambitious guy and I've no doubt he has an ideal career path.  Does he do what others have done and jump at the first job which comes up in England, fail at some nomark club and scramble about for the next 20 years?  Or does he learn his trade properly, get the European experience under his belt properly, grow this team, really "use us" as his apprenticeship?

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see Naisy getting interest, but I also wouldn't be surprised for him to show very little interest at this stage.  Perhaps end of next season...

 

It's essentially the same thing he's telling Beni and others isn't it. Or James Wilson.  This is a great club to get great experience at a good level and pick the right option when you've earnt it.

 

If Everton go down they won't be able to afford a big name. The new prospective owners have already put £200M of loans down against the stadium.

 

In short, they're f****d and could end up like Bolton or Sheff Wed.

[Ex member of the SaS]

1 hour ago, HopeDiouf said:

Gordon Forrest and Frank McAvoy were getting a lot of stick earlier in the season, when results weren't so great.  McAvoy in particular got A LOT of stick when he was nominally in charge.  Think it's worth acknowledging that all 3 are part of the team doing a great job.

Think I read Forrest in charge of attacking tactics, and McAvoy the defensive side?

My problem ( then ) with FM was he thought he was in charge. Once SN stamped his authority on things we have improved massively. I previously posted about a game ( I can't remember which game now ) but we were making a sub, SN had talked to the player making it clear what he wanted. Just as the player approached the touch line, FM stepped forward and tried to get his oar in. SN stepped between them and didn't allow FM to speak to the player.

I have no idea what happens in training but when playing the manager should have the last word.

Happy with things as they are now that everyone knows their place.

[HopeDiouf]

Just now, Ex member of the SaS said:

My problem ( then ) with FM was he thought he was in charge. Once SN stamped his authority on things we have improved massively. I previously posted about a game ( I can't remember which game now ) but we were making a sub, SN had talked to the player making it clear what he wanted. Just as the player approached the touch line, FM stepped forward and tried to get his oar in. SN stepped between them and didn't allow FM to speak to the player.

I have no idea what happens in training but when playing the manager should have the last word.

Happy with things as they are now that everyone knows their place.

To be fair to the management team, they've said all along nothing has changed.  McAvoy is still on touchline and still speaks to players before they go on etc.  

I do get the questions and anger at the time, as results weren't going well.

Just thought worth acknowledging the other 2 as well as Naismith, as they are clearly an important part of the coaching team that is doing so well for us now.

[AC Mallin_51]

Back to back wins v Celtic for the first time in god knows how long. Most impressive thing now is how improved some players are under him. Forrest has went from a pretty underwhelming signing to a key, consistent performer. He’s took Nieuwenhof, a lad from halfway around the world who looked like he was gonna struggle to settle , into a midfield maestro. Kye Rowles looks better, Jorge Grant looks better, Shankland even looks better than ever. Not to mention the young lads coming through. We’ve got a proper gaffer here 

[Victorian]

5 minutes ago, AC Mallin_51 said:

Back to back wins v Celtic for the first time in god knows how long. Most impressive thing now is how improved some players are under him. Forrest has went from a pretty underwhelming signing to a key, consistent performer. He’s took Nieuwenhof, a lad from halfway around the world who looked like he was gonna struggle to settle , into a midfield maestro. Kye Rowles looks better, Jorge Grant looks better, Shankland even looks better than ever. Not to mention the young lads coming through. We’ve got a proper gaffer here 

 

This.  He's gathered it all together and produced a package and a half.  A team that can suffer a 5-0 clobbering and come back out as if nothing happened.

 

The acid test is Shankland moving on and how to proceed.  But the supporting act is so good that any decent striker should equal a thoroughly good team.

[Shooter McGavin]

Bark you f****** dogs

[jamboinglasgow]

19 minutes ago, AC Mallin_51 said:

Back to back wins v Celtic for the first time in god knows how long. Most impressive thing now is how improved some players are under him. Forrest has went from a pretty underwhelming signing to a key, consistent performer. He’s took Nieuwenhof, a lad from halfway around the world who looked like he was gonna struggle to settle , into a midfield maestro. Kye Rowles looks better, Jorge Grant looks better, Shankland even looks better than ever. Not to mention the young lads coming through. We’ve got a proper gaffer here 

 

Completely agree.

 

This week was going to be a difficult week, both Old Firm and Hibs in 8 days. If we got 3 points from this week I would be happy. We got 4 points. We took a sore one against Rangers last Saturday and I think it knocked us on Wednesday. But what is always crucial is that we get back onto things. That is what we did today and we looked comfortable. There is no reason for us not to carry on our pre-Rangers form.

 

What Naismith is achieving this season is remarkable considering its his first season as a manager (at least at a high level.) His man management has been fantastic. Losing Kent could have been disastrous, we were fearing that today, but he rejigged the defence in a way that got the most out of Sibbick, Kingsley and Rowles. All the people you listed has shown, even Tagawa who people have written off is getting carefully managed to be built up.

 

Naismith is still learning so will make mistakes, but one of his most impressive traits is that he is good at learning from his mistakes, something a lot managers dont do. He is also installing a great mentality in the players.

 

I also feel like we are building a squad that is designed to keep together and build upon next season. Even getting youngsters in who will grow more next season but playing an important part now.

[stirlo]

Good interview with Steven Naismith during the last half hour of 5 live's Monday Night Club this evening followed by chat about Hearts. Got to say Chris Sutton always stands up for Scottish football and was quite complementary about Hearts. 

[Nelly Terraces]

46 minutes ago, stirlo said:

Good interview with Steven Naismith during the last half hour of 5 live's Monday Night Club this evening followed by chat about Hearts. Got to say Chris Sutton always stands up for Scottish football and was quite complementary about Hearts. 

Yeah, I heard it as well & agree it was a good listen. Far better than anything you'd get from BBC Scotland that's for sure.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001x079

 

[Brick Tamland]

8 hours ago, stirlo said:

Good interview with Steven Naismith during the last half hour of 5 live's Monday Night Club this evening followed by chat about Hearts. Got to say Chris Sutton always stands up for Scottish football and was quite complementary about Hearts. 

Good find and well worth a listen. 

[Mr Sifter]

8 hours ago, Nelly Terraces said:

Yeah, I heard it as well & agree it was a good listen. Far better than anything you'd get from BBC Scotland that's for sure.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001x079

 

Cheers for that Nelly. A good listen. Cheers for posting 👍🏼 (fast forward to 1hr 33mins 50 seconds for Naismith by the way).

[i wish jj was my dad]

On 23/02/2024 at 10:20, Ex member of the SaS said:

My problem ( then ) with FM was he thought he was in charge. Once SN stamped his authority on things we have improved massively. I previously posted about a game ( I can't remember which game now ) but we were making a sub, SN had talked to the player making it clear what he wanted. Just as the player approached the touch line, FM stepped forward and tried to get his oar in. SN stepped between them and didn't allow FM to speak to the player.

I have no idea what happens in training but when playing the manager should have the last word.

Happy with things as they are now that everyone knows their place.

How do you know MacAvoy thought he was in charge? Because of an apparent intervention by Naisy that we have no idea what was being said or why? 

Rather than looking to point the finger, I'm inclined to accept Naisy's own take. Key players have returned, new players are settling in and others are adjusting to a different way of playing. 

Not always a popular view but it's almost as if the club know what they are doing. 

[GlasgoJambo]

9 hours ago, stirlo said:

Good interview with Steven Naismith during the last half hour of 5 live's Monday Night Club this evening followed by chat about Hearts. Got to say Chris Sutton always stands up for Scottish football and was quite complementary about Hearts. 

 

9 hours ago, Nelly Terraces said:

Yeah, I heard it as well & agree it was a good listen. Far better than anything you'd get from BBC Scotland that's for sure.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001x079

 

thanks for the heads up and link 

[weaz1981]

9 hours ago, stirlo said:

Good interview with Steven Naismith during the last half hour of 5 live's Monday Night Club this evening followed by chat about Hearts. Got to say Chris Sutton always stands up for Scottish football and was quite complementary about Hearts. 

Class, look forward to listening to this on my commute this morning. Agree about Sutton. I quite enjoy him playing the pantomime villan and don't even mind his celtic bias...it shows he was really engaged when he was in the league unlike many others who have plied their trade in Scotland. 

[Dazo]

Cracking interview, cheers for the link. 

[RS86]

On 03/03/2024 at 21:04, AC Mallin_51 said:

Back to back wins v Celtic for the first time in god knows how long.

Ivanauskas in 2006 I think.

[Oda be a JT]

On 03/03/2024 at 21:49, Shooter McGavin said:

Bark you f****** dogs

Effing love that picture! ♥️

[Jambo in Bathgate]

36 minutes ago, RS86 said:

Ivanauskas in 2006 I think.

And look at the players he had at his disposal. But for referees we’d have won too when the hobbit Maloney dived. 

[TexasAndy]

Sutton was quite fair in that podcast but the one thing that is getting a bit boring now is the emphasis on how much we rely on Shankland's goals.  Of course we do, he's a 30 goal a season striker, the only one in Scotland currently.  It's like a dog with a bone they won't let go of the Shankland thing until he leaves us.

[davemclaren]

2 hours ago, i wish jj was my dad said:

How do you know MacAvoy thought he was in charge? Because of an apparent intervention by Naisy that we have no idea what was being said or why? 

Rather than looking to point the finger, I'm inclined to accept Naisy's own take. Key players have returned, new players are settling in and others are adjusting to a different way of playing. 

Not always a popular view but it's almost as if the club know what they are doing. 

McAvoy was never in charge - except on paper. 

[Japan Jambo]

Wasn't at all convinced when appointed nor earlier in the season. He clearly has something about him though and appears to be developing fast. There are a number of attributes where he seems particularly strong; making players better, tweaking tactics to take advantage of the situation in game and creating mental resilience in players. Still a way to go but he is very much earning his spurs, I suspect he's on his way to being a very good manager indeed.

[Jim Panzee]

On 23/02/2024 at 10:20, Ex member of the SaS said:

My problem ( then ) with FM was he thought he was in charge. Once SN stamped his authority on things we have improved massively. I previously posted about a game ( I can't remember which game now ) but we were making a sub, SN had talked to the player making it clear what he wanted. Just as the player approached the touch line, FM stepped forward and tried to get his oar in. SN stepped between them and didn't allow FM to speak to the player.

I have no idea what happens in training but when playing the manager should have the last word.

Happy with things as they are now that everyone knows their place.

 

the only part of this post that's true.

 

you think Naismith would've accepted the role without clarifying how he and his coaches would operate?

 

given McAvoy and Forrest are still very much part of the team, it's clear Naismith was, is and will be comfortable with how they all work together.

 

as @davemclaren points out, McAvoy was only given a paper appointment for the euro games. You really think he'd have decided unilaterally to ignore this fact and try to masquerade as the manager?

 

 

[kingantti1874]

Very good interview, naisy is a very clever guy.  Hopefully will stay here for 3/4 years and learn his trade before inevitably moving on 

[stirlo]

44 minutes ago, TexasAndy said:

Sutton was quite fair in that podcast but the one thing that is getting a bit boring now is the emphasis on how much we rely on Shankland's goals.  Of course we do, he's a 30 goal a season striker, the only one in Scotland currently.  It's like a dog with a bone they won't let go of the Shankland thing until he leaves us.

 

I know what you're saying but it's got to be said that if Shankland had picked up an injury or had a downturn in form at some point we'd not be sitting 13 points clear in third - in fact things could have been very different. Whether or not Shankland leaves in the summer it's imperative we add more firepower to the squad so that we have more goals from other areas of the team next season.

[Hearts1975]

18 minutes ago, kingantti1874 said:

Very good interview, naisy is a very clever guy.  Hopefully will stay here for 3/4 years and learn his trade before inevitably moving on 

Highly intelligent and knows the game inside out. Speaks really really well and keeps it simple.

I found it fascinating his explanation on capitalising on the margins in Scotland, as opposed to maybe having that opportunity down South.

He was a very good player, back in the day, but not a player blessed with an abundance of skill. Relative to the top EPL players, I mean.

He could compete down there though. 

His strength was reading the game and understanding how to get into the right positions.

This is now starting to manifest itself throughout the squad in terms of being able to manage games through to conclusion. We obviously work really hard on this part at training. 

He maximised what he could have had, and out of a career in the game.

Wouldn't be at all surprised if he passes this wisdom on to most of the squad moving forward. 37 years of age as well. Unreal.  

[i wish jj was my dad]

51 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

McAvoy was never in charge - except on paper. 

Correct. I can't believe anyone swallowed that guff. 

[Fozzyonthefence]

2 minutes ago, i wish jj was my dad said:

Correct. I can't believe anyone swallowed that guff. 

UEFA did. 

[Rick Sanchez]

 

 

[OTT]

5 hours ago, Mr Sifter said:

Cheers for that Nelly. A good listen. Cheers for posting 👍🏼 (fast forward to 1hr 33mins 50 seconds for Naismith by the way).

 

Hero - thanks for the time stamp  

[FarmerTweedy]

4 hours ago, Jim Panzee said:

 

the only part of this post that's true.

 

you think Naismith would've accepted the role without clarifying how he and his coaches would operate?

 

given McAvoy and Forrest are still very much part of the team, it's clear Naismith was, is and will be comfortable with how they all work together.

 

as @davemclaren points out, McAvoy was only given a paper appointment for the euro games. You really think he'd have decided unilaterally to ignore this fact and try to masquerade as the manager?

 

 

You're right with most of what you say here, but on the bit in bold, his job at the time actually was to masquerade as the manager!  

[FarmerTweedy]

2 hours ago, Rick Sanchez said:

 

 

I've no idea if Football Insider has any actual knowledge or is just another spammer, but even if Millwall are interested in Naismith, I'd be utterly astonished if he was remotely interested in them! Unless this last three months or so turn out to be a real flash in the pan, Naismith has bigger and better things than Millwall ahead of him when he decides the time is right to leave us!

[Jim Panzee]

20 minutes ago, FarmerTweedy said:

You're right with most of what you say here, but on the bit in bold, his job at the time actually was to masquerade as the manager!  

lol. only to the authorities. He knew, we knew, in fact everyone knew who the actual manager was.

[Rick Sanchez]

15 minutes ago, FarmerTweedy said:

I've no idea if Football Insider has any actual knowledge or is just another spammer, but even if Millwall are interested in Naismith, I'd be utterly astonished if he was remotely interested in them! Unless this last three months or so turn out to be a real flash in the pan, Naismith has bigger and better things than Millwall ahead of him when he decides the time is right to leave us!

 

Followed by Dharmesh Sheth, Keith Downie, David Ornstein and Scott Burns. I'd imagine they have something about them.

 

New contract ASAP!

[Carl Fredrickson]

15 hours ago, Nelly Terraces said:

Yeah, I heard it as well & agree it was a good listen. Far better than anything you'd get from BBC Scotland that's for sure.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001x079

 

 

Thanks for the link, really good listen. Refreshing to hear a manager talk so much sense rather than soundbites and such like.

[jamboinglasgow]

2 hours ago, Carl Fredrickson said:

 

Thanks for the link, really good listen. Refreshing to hear a manager talk so much sense rather than soundbites and such like.

 

Yeah it was a good listen and nice to have a good discussion from the pundits and Hearts about Scottish football.

 

On a sidenote, Obua must have stuck in Rory Smith's head (one of the pundits on the show, football journalist for the New York Times) as he talked about Hearts signing players from around the world in the past including Uganda.

[Carl Fredrickson]

1 minute ago, jamboinglasgow said:

 

Yeah it was a good listen and nice to have a good discussion from the pundits and Hearts about Scottish football.

 

On a sidenote, Obua must have stuck in Rory Smith's head (one of the pundits on the show, football journalist for the New York Times) as he talked about Hearts signing players from around the world in the past including Uganda.

 

For that goal and celebration at Fester Road. 

[Watt-Zeefuik]

It wasn't the coaching title switch that caused our improvement, it was ditching the back 4/inverted fullbacks system which we clearly weren't ready to play in and which didn't suit our personnel.

 

 

We switched after the 4-1 loss to Celtic and nearly beat Rangers. By the time we went back to a back 4, Rowles had gotten his confidence back and was playing at a much higher level, Beni was nearly back to full strength, and the light had gone on for Hoff.

[chaswasjambotillend]

Neil Harris

2 hours ago, FarmerTweedy said:

I've no idea if Football Insider has any actual knowledge or is just another spammer, but even if Millwall are interested in Naismith, I'd be utterly astonished if he was remotely interested in them! Unless this last three months or so turn out to be a real flash in the pan, Naismith has bigger and better things than Millwall ahead of him when he decides the time is right to leave us!

Neil Harris signed 18 month contract to take job in february be surprised in this.

[tynewater]

Has he got the necessary coaching qualifications for euro competitions now, or do we face the Nasey/McAvoy job shuffle again next season?

[Dazo]

29 minutes ago, tynewater said:

Has he got the necessary coaching qualifications for euro competitions now, or do we face the Nasey/McAvoy job shuffle again next season?

He’ll have started the course so will get an exemption. Shame really as the seethe if we reshuffled would be tremendous. 

[Section Q]

I think he'll extend his contract with us. Millwall are fantasising...!

[stirlo]

I was very much in favour of Naisy getting the job and I said right from the start that I think he has the makings of a very good football manager. But one thing that has particularly impressed me about Naismith is how measured he's been for someone that could be rather feisty on the pitch. When decisions have gone against us he's never made a big deal of things - what a contrast with Brendan Rodgers. I also thought the way he kept his cool at the end of the 1-1 derby last season despite the antics of Lee Johnson at the end of the game was very telling. 

 

He understands how football teams work, he understands how footballers think - but he also doesn't seem to get too caught up emotionally with it all. I honestly think he has all the makings of a top manager.

[mitch41]

I'm sick of pleading with the Hearts Board to get Steven Naismith signed on a long term contract with a substantial wage increase. This man has a talent that not many managers have and it is that obvious you can bet other clubs are watching what Hearts do to give him security and match the ambition Naisy obviously has.

[hisnameis]

35 minutes ago, mitch41 said:

I'm sick of pleading with the Hearts Board to get Steven Naismith signed on a long term contract with a substantial wage increase. This man has a talent that not many managers have and it is that obvious you can bet other clubs are watching what Hearts do to give him security and match the ambition Naisy obviously has.

I think you are spot on. Let's get this sorted Hearts. Perhaps waiting until 3rd is tied up but hopefully in the pipeline.