Steven Naismith will face one of the biggest games in his nascent managerial career on Sunday when he leads Heart of Midlothian into the Viaplay Cup semi-final with Rangers. It will be his 25th in charge of a first-team squad and provide him with the opportunity to create history in becoming the first Hearts manager to defeat their Ibrox opposition at Hampden Park.

As he sat down with the press on Friday ahead of that encounter he, like many managers and coaches before him, spoke of it as "just another game" albeit recognising the "dynamics are different". But, unlike many managers and coaches, Naismith, as he often does, provides greater detail and insight to anything and everything he is asked. In this case, dealing with pressure as a manager, short-termism and, quite openly, of the sack.

READ MORE: Naismith reflects on 11 league games and what'll define him as Hearts boss - Full Q&A

"The pressure part is something I'm comfortable with," he said. "The worst thing that is going to happen is I'm going to get sacked, I'll move on and everyone will move on. I'm pretty calm with that. I've been battered as a player, I've been battered as a coach. It is part and parcel, it's not right and not right the way people are on social media but that is a wider thing. I'm tough enough to deal with it. I've been there and come back from it."

"There" refers to being written off, both at Rangers and Everton. The 37-year-old has already been written off with regards to his management at Tynecastle Park. He is fully aware of how football operates now - “we’re definitely in an era where everything is must-win and if you don’t win by tomorrow it’s not good enough" - but it is rare to hear a manager be so candid about short-termism and "survivors" within Scottish football. 

Naismith said: “All I can do is continue to work hard, continue to see progression and hopefully, and this is the bigger picture for me, the whole club moves forward, not just we have one good season and do well, it's about having a team that can compete year after year, have players who get better and we maybe sell them, make money. There are ones that come through the academy. It is the whole thing for me.

"[Short-term success] doesn't excite me, it doesn't fill me with loads of drive. Quick success, brilliant, get plaudits, then where do you go? I want something I can look back on in 10-15 years time and say 'I was part of that'. 

"I could easily have retired, put my feet up and enjoyed it but I really believe I can make a difference here. I really believe we have got good people here. I believe the club is going in the right direction. The one part that is the hardest part is the demand and the expectation which is right there from day one. Inevitably there are going to be mistakes made. There are going to be mistakes made by players, us, everybody. If we are better after those mistakes then that's going to be better long term.

He added: "We can do so much more, it is about driving people to be better. The board want that, the fans want that, we've got a good group of players who want that. As a collective I think we can definitely get there."

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Management has provoked that fire within Naismith, who is regularly seen kicking every ball on the sideline, and that "buzz", enticing him into a pressured career when he could be spending time with his family and maybe persuing punditry work. 

"It’s this buzz and the size of the club and what I believe," he said. "There's no point being at a club that’s no value in investing in it and making it better.

"I think [in] Scottish Football there’s loads of survivors. Survive year to year and that’s a collective - everyone not making the right decisions to give us the best chance of development. Survivors everywhere. I don’t want to be a survivor. So I put my head above the parapet 'I’m willing to give this a shot'. I believe in it. I’ve hopefully the playing career to back that up and now it’s about trying to do it as a coach." 

He added: "Trophies and consistently challenging at the top of the table. I knew that when I came as a player, I know it now. It is whether time allows and within that time we have enough progression that people buy into it. That is what will define me as being the head coach at Hearts."

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