Heart of Midlothian

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Steven Naismith admits the form that led to his dismissal as Hearts head coach simply wasn't "good enough", but expressed his gratitude for being handed the opportunity to lead the club.

Naismith, 38, was originally appointed as caretaker following Robbie Neilson's departure in April 2023, before being handed the role on a permanent basis, and led Hearts to a third-place league finish last season.

However, he was sacked on Sunday after a run of eight successive defeats with Hearts bottom of the Scottish Premiership.

"I am disappointed that my time at Heart of Midlothian Football Club has come to an end," Naismith said in a statement.

"This season has been a frustrating one for a number of reasons and ultimately it just hasn't been good enough.

"When you’re at a big club with demands and expectations and you go on a bad run of form, pressure is always going to come.

"I would like to thank everyone associated with Heart of Midlothian. From my first day, I formed a strong connection with the club and all who work there, I knew, understood and appreciated the standards and demands of HMFC and this was something I constantly tried to uphold as a player and manager.

"The board put faith in me and gave me the opportunity to become a leader of the club and I am truly grateful for that."

Naismith also insists the Hearts board are "the right people to guide the club" amid some criticism of their decisions, and expects the players to "fulfil their potential" as the season goes forward.

"I fully believe that this board are the right people to guide the club – I truly believe all they want is success," he said.

"I also believe the club is very near to taking the next step and progressing to the next level continuing on the trajectory it has been on.

"In my opinion the squad of players has lots of potential, even though this season at times we have struggled to get going, I have confidence that they will fulfil their potential.

"The fans are a huge part of the football club and their work to secure control of the club is special. Hearts have many great people who follow the club every week, the desire for success is clear to see.

"I really do hope you get some special moments in the near future. Please understand the power of your support when used in the right way. Keep following and backing the players."

Former Hearts midfielder Ryan Stevenson says the decision to sack Steven Naismith was the right one, but believes the issues at Tynecastle run deeper.

Naismith was relieved of his duties on Sunday after eight straight defeats, and Stevenson believes the style of football under the former Scotland forward didn't fit what Hearts is all about.

"I don't think the DNA of Hearts was getting played," Stevenson told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"Nasimith wanted to play out from the back. Especially at Tynecastle, it's a 'go get at them' type of club, but I don't blame Naismith. He had to go because of the results, but I blame the board."

Stevenson criticised the club's decision over the summer to not sign another striker to alleviate the burden on Lawrence Shankland.

The Hearts captain scored 31 goals in all competitions for the club last season, but Kenneth Vargas was next highest with just nine strikes in 42 appearances.

"The glaring issue is there is one guy who can score goals," Stevenson said. "There's a massive hole behind Shankland and Hearts did nothing to sort it.

"We needed two strikers in that window. You cannot ask one guy to score you 33 goals one year and do the same again next year. Unless you're [Cristiano] Ronaldo or [Lionel] Messi, it's pretty much impossible.

"I would love answers of who made that decision? Who made that decision to not sign any other strikers? Who made that decision not to look at any other strikers?

"Ultimately it has to fall to the board. They make these big decisions. We have a guy from the SFA in Graeme Jones who, as I'm led to believe, has no background in recruitment. So what does he come in to do?

"There's just so many questions that we could be on this podcast all night and I could rant and rave about Hearts right now. But I just think there's so many big holes."

We asked for your thoughts on Steven Naismith's sacking and who you think should come in as his replacement at Tynecastle.

Here's what you had to say:

David: Ludicrous decision. No patience in football these days. Media and so called social media have a lot to answer for, Hearts have the makings of a good team when they gel.

Jamie: We need someone with good experience. There aren’t a lot of managers without a job at the moment. We need an outsider who will come in with fresh ideas. The board needs to get this appointment correct and look for a decent name in football.

Gary: Only one choice for me for next boss and that is Derek McInnes. Hearts are a top team and need a top boss.

Bob: Hearts were right to part ways with Steven Naismith due to the recent run of embarrassing results, lack of identity and his clear inexperience as a manager. To meet the club's ambitions, they should target McInnes or Alex Neil, both of whom have the experience and tactical acumen needed to push Hearts toward top honors and European competition.

Andrew: While no Hearts supporter likes to see a manager and assistants sacked, the correct decision has been made before more loses occur. The board however should take full responsibility for Hearts position.

George: It has to be a manager with experience and a well proven track record, not jilted to Scottish football, Alex Neil fits that profile.

Chris: Naismith had a great bunch of talent at his disposal which he constantly misused with confusing formations, tactics and changes. Managers should not be cutting their teeth at Hearts, the next appointment is crucial to our season. Andrew McKinlay should follow him out the door for awarding a new deal and letting this go as long as it did.

Jockie: Hearts need to push the boat out if they are serious about mounting a challenge to the Old Firm or competing in Europe even if it is only the Conference League. David Moyes would be worth sounding out, the worst that can happen is for him to say no. With a potential investment of £10 million supposedly on the horizon, why not?

Alan: As a convert to the Naismith cause, I wasn't up for him getting the gig originally, I thought it was a great call to extend his contract. It's a mistake for those that lauded him last season to level accusations of incompetence this one. Give him the next half dozen games, not easy in the main to show he's got it in his locker to turn it around.

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*Includes games when Naismith was 'Hearts technical director' at the start of last season.

Former Sunderland and Stoke City manager Alex Neil is the early bookmakers' favourite to become Heart of Midlothian head coach, while Kilmarnock's Derek McInnes and St Mirren's Stephen Robinson are also among the contenders. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

Listen to the episode in full here.

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Liam Fox will step up to become Hearts interim manager while the club searches for a successor to Steven Naismith, who was sacked as head coach on Sunday.

Fox will step up from his role as Hearts B team head coach, and will be assisted Angus Beith and Lee Wallace, starting with Saturday's Premiership match against Ross County at Tynecastle.

"The Board met today to agree a way forward, and the process of identifying and hiring a new management team has already begun," Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay said in a statement.

"In the interim, we welcome Liam, Angus and Lee to the first team and will give them all the backing they need, as I’m sure the supporters will, in order to turn around the present situation.

"Updates will be provided to supporters in due course but, in the meantime, I would ask our fans to continue their unrivalled backing of the team when we host Ross County at Tynecastle Park on Saturday as, together, we strive to take positive steps forward."

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Former Hearts manager John McGlynn has backed Steven Naismith to "bounce back" from his Tynecastle dismissal.

Naismith was sacked on Sunday after an eighth successive defeat in all competitions, away to St Mirren on Saturday, having signed a new deal with the club as recently as August.

McGlynn managed Hearts himself from June 2012 to February 2013, and expressed his sympathies to Naismith.

"It's sadness for Steven," McGlynn told BBC Scotland, when asked for his reaction to the news.

"He's a young manager and he did so well when he got the caretaker job and then throughout last season.

"He's had a sticky start and I wish he could have got longer. As a fellow manager, it's not nice.

"I'm sure he's learned loads and I'm sure he will bounce back from it."

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers also believes Naismith will "learn" from the setback.

"I'm always disappointed when any manager loses their job," he said.

"For Steven, he will learn from it. He had a wonderful career as a player.

"I had a similar experience when I was a young manager - I was very quickly out of the game after 20 games at Reading. It's about how you respond."

Just six weeks after extending his contract, Steven Naismith has been dismissed as Hearts head coach.

A winless start to the season - and current run of eight straight defeats - has spelled the end for the former Scotland striker, who initially took charge on an interim basis in April last year.

Have the Hearts board made the right calling in getting rid of Naismith? And who would you like to see replace him?

Share your views here., external

We asked for your views after Hearts suffered an eighth consecutive defeat with a 2-1 loss at St Mirren.

Here's what some of you said:

George: Sadly despite Steven Naismith's comments on having the fight and the skills to start winning games I very much doubt he can. It's a far more difficult task than I think he can manage, so unfortunately, and it saddens me to see Hearts dismissing any manager, they must move him and his assistants out. The crucial decision would be who replaces him.

Chick: Another hapless performance and Hearts are heading for relegation with this manager. I've followed the team for 70 years and I’m sad to say I've seen it all before. What are the board waiting for? Whatever happened to passion and pride wearing a maroon jersey, it's all disappeared.

Brian: The board must take the blame. They allowed the manager to splash the cash and sign below average players. The team has played one good game all season, we could go down, the manager knows he needs to resign.

Anon: I like Naismith and I wanted him to succeed, but he as good as admits he’s run out of ideas, so he has to go. He might survive until after the Ross County game but I’ll be amazed if we don’t lose that too. Now if they could bring in David Moyes to work with him as technical advisor.

Alan: Something has to change soon, whatever is going on in training where they appear to be world beaters is not going into games. I can only see 1/2 games with Naismith left in charge.

Adam: Naismith doesn't know how to handle the players, he can sit there and rip into the players one week and the next he's struggling for an excuse, soon Tynecastle and away days will be empty, it's embarrassing, a team that held third place last season is sitting 12th.

Kevin: It's not happening and this can't continue. We are boring to watch, weak at the back and impotent upfront. You sign good players and can't get anything out of them. We need a change of the entire coaching staff and players need to be shipped out.

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• St Mirren are undefeated in their last three games in the Premiership, their last joint longest unbeaten streak was from 24 February 2024 to 2 March 2024.

• Hearts have lost their last five games in the Premiership, their last joint longest losing streak was from 8 March 2023 to 15 April 2023.

• Toyosi Olusanya has scored in each of his last three games in the Premiership (3 goals), his longest scoring streak in the competition.

Head coach Steven Naismith is sure he can arrest Hearts' alarming slump after an eighth successive loss away to St Mirren left the Edinburgh club at the foot of the Scottish Premiership.

Poor defending at set-pieces was the theme in Paisley. Both teams scored from their first corner kicks, with Gerald Taylor losing his bearings when trying to mark Richard Taylor and heading Mark O'Hara's delivery into his own net.

Hearts levelled soon after as Craig Halkett glanced home a flat cross from Blair Spittal.

The visitors were looking the more menacing side but more slack play at the back handed the initiative to St Mirren.

On 34 minutes, Killian Phillips nodded on a long free-kick and Toyosi Olusanya was quickest to the loose ball, lashing it high into the net.

Olusanya fired the wrong side of the post from close range early in the second half, Kevin van Veen whistled a couple of efforts wide, and Roland Idowu was denied by Craig Gordon as St Mirren registered their first Premiership victory since the opening weekend.

Hearts barely mustered a chance after the interval and remain rooted to the bottom of the table, without a win this season.

Give us your thoughts on Hearts' performance here, external.

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Hearts head coach Steven Naismith has faith he can turn round a woeful run of form that has the Edinburgh club stuck at the foot of the Scottish Premiership.

A 2-1 defeat at St Mirren stretched the club's losing sequence to eight games in all competitions.

"I fully believe I can," he told BBC Scotland when asked if he can arrest the slump. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

Having finished third last season, Hearts have just one point from six league outings, an opening day draw at home to Rangers.

"Every game we lose, pressure builds," Naismith added. "I've been in the game long enough to understand that.

"A club like Hearts, this run of form is a really poor run. I genuinely believe the players are still working really hard. What we worked on all week, we saw for 60 minutes.

"The small margins, we got punished for.

"My relationship with the club and board is very good. I've said that if I feel I've lost the players or the players had lost what we are wanting, I'd walk away, but I don't think we are at that point.

"Small parts of the game are costing us but I'm definitely up for the fight. In these moments, you learn a lot. We can put a good run of form together.

"A thing you don't get now is time. There's no better club for me to be at. But I understand fans' opinions are going to be strong, we heard that today.

"The club are understanding. They'll make the right decisions at the right time."

Hearts began brightly, with Blair Spittal twice threatening in the opening moments and Beni Baningime neat and tidy in the middle of the park.

But heads went down once the second St Mirren goal went in and travelling fans vented their fury at full-time.

A James Penrice crack from distance was the only shot home goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe had to deal with after Craig Halkett's 18th minute equaliser.

Lawrence Shankland, so prolific last term, has yet to find the net this season - the longest barren run of his Hearts career.

The striker did lay on a clever cross for Spittal to head over but there was no service coming the other way and his frustration was clear in a second half when Hearts completely lost their way, with under pressure manager Steven Naismith admitting his team had "fizzled out with a whimper".

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Beni Baningime played his first full 90 minutes of the season for Hearts and boy do they need him up and running.

The central midfielder was prominent in the early stages when the visitors were on top but faded, along with all of his other team-mates, in a ragged second half.

St Mirren: Balcombe, Rooney, Taylor, Gogic, Fraser, Brown, O'Hara, Phillips, Boyd-Munce, Olusanya, Mandron

Substitutes: Urminsky, Bwomono, Dunne, Tanser, Smyth, Idowu, Scott, Ayunga, Van Veen.

Hearts: Gordon, Taylor, Halkett, Kingsley, Penrice, Baningime, Boateng, Grant, Spittal, Shankland, Vargas.

Substitutes: Clark, Oyegoke, Devlin, Oda, Rowles, Forrest, Dhand, Boyce, Drammeh

Hearts "could be challenging for the Premiership title in the coming years" if a proposed link up with Brighton chairman Tony Bloom goes ahead, says former Scotland striker Kris Boyd. (Scottish Sun), external

Spanish forward Musa Drammeh, who joined Heart of Midlothian from Sevilla, has held talks with head coach Steven Naismith over his lack of game time. (Football Scotland), external

Read the rest of Saturday's Scottish gossip.

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Charles Dunne is available after signing a short-term deal at St Mirren and Greg Kiltie has been back in training 10 days after recovering from an ankle problem.

Alex Iacovitti will be out until around Christmas with a tendon injury while Richard Taylor is struggling with a hernia problem which in time will probably require surgery. Conor McMenamin (knee) is making progress.

Hearts defender Frankie Kent is a doubt with an ankle problem, and Calem Nieuwenhof (hamstring) is still out but Yutaro Oda, Liam Boyce and Barrie McKay are set to come back into contention.

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Steven Naismith says he is solely to blame for Hearts' early-season troubles, but insists they have not been as poor as results suggest.

The Tynecastle side finished third in the Scottish Premiership last season under Naismith, but have lost their last seven games in all competitions and are rooted to the bottom of the table with just one point from their opening five league matches.

Head coach Naismith believes a win is just around the corner as he prepares his side for a trip to St Mirren on Saturday.

"We need to be better," he said. "That's ultimately my mistake and my problem, and I'm the one that's at fault for that.

"It's been a tough start. There's been some poor moments; there's been good moments. I think we'll get a break and the results will pick up. Some of our new players are getting more comfortable, which eases things for us as well.

"I've got full confidence in the squad, and I've got a real belief that we can get a result [against St Mirren]."

Fans and pundits alike have criticised Hearts for lacking an identity under Naismith, and while he acknowledged their attacking play has been below-par, he says they first have to return to the fundamentals that brought success last season.

"Last season our identity was that we won games consistently, and that needs to be the first thing people identify with you, that you are hard to beat," he said.

"We're probably a team that has more possession than the opposition, but I don't then think our attacking style has been clear and that's something we need to improve on.

"You need to find other ways to put other teams under pressure. We've not done that well enough. For me, that's been the biggest thing.

“We've been punished for every mistake we've made. I don't think that will continue. I think we'll get a bit of luck in some respects, but we need to be creating more chances.

"Ultimately we need to win games to bring that confidence back and for the players to play their best football."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Hearts head coach Steven Naismith has been talking to the media before his side's trip to St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.

Here are the best bits from his press conference:

• Says he is unable to speak about any proposed deal with Brighton owner Tony Bloom over recruitment, but stressed Hearts are always "looking to improve and progress".

• Naismith stressed data is not just about "general output from players". He says it is key at every level of a club and will be even more so in the future.

• He understands the buck stops with him when it comes to results after seven consecutive defeats. "We need to be better, and that's ultimately my mistake and my problem."

• Says there have been key areas identified for improvement - "we need to be creating more chances; we need to take more chances" - but also believes Hearts have lacked luck in certain games.

• On criticism from fans about his team lacking an identity, Naismith said first and foremost they need to get back to being "hard to beat".

• Defender Frankie Kent is a major doubt for the game having picked up an ankle knock.