Steven Naismith reveals what will define him as Hearts boss

Here is everything he had to say?

How is your squad looking for Sunday?

Kyosuke Tagawa will come back into full training today. [Alex] Lowry has been assessed but obviously with him not being available for Sunday it’s not a major concern.

How important was the result on Wednesday going into a game of this magnitude?

It was a big win for us. With results not being exactly where you want to be all the time, it was important. The performance showed that everybody believes in a lot of what we’ve been doing - a lot of what we’ve been doing in the background clicked.It was about mindset and mentality and having patience and trust. The hardest thing for players, especially in a game you dominate, is dealing with the feeling of not working hard enough. Players then start running more but end up running into the wrong spaces. Instead it’s about being disciplined and the lads did that really well, hence why we had so many chances and created some good chances. That was the most pleasing thing. The last two performances will definitely give us confidence going into Sunday.

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Is it good that there have been two different games? You showed at Ibrox a more defensive side then on Wednesday you had more of the ball.

Where we probably sit within the rankings of the league means we’re going to come up against both parts of that. It’s good to have an understanding of that. Come Sunday, with it being a semi-final and the small margins that are contained in that, we’re going to need to do both parts. We’ll need to be good on the ball but also have a good structure. We’ll also need to defend and be disciplined.

You have now played every team once in the league, how would you reflect on the first 11 games league wise?

I’m positive about a lot of what I’ve seen. In terms of results, early on you’re dealing with Europe - but we didn’t deal with that well enough. But I’ve felt in this first period of the season, a lot of the goals we’ve conceded have been self-inflicted. So it’s probably a positive that if we cut that out, we’ll be in a much better place. We also haven’t been at our best in the final third. The stats show that we’ve done well getting there, we’ve had shots - but our expected goals haven’t been there. So with those two elements, when we start getting them working and it’s a bit more free flowing, I know we’ll be in a really good place.

You may not have got the results you wanted but you are still sitting fourth going into the second block?

Exactly. We’ve had to deal with all that [fixture] congestion at the start, which other teams don’t have to do. Other teams maybe start the season well and don’t have as many injuries, then they can build up a head of steam. Overall I’m confident. Ideally you’d like to have more wins, but I think they’ll come.

A semi-final at Hampden is a different test for you as a manager. Do you look at it differently?

No really. It’s just another game. On the day, the dynamics are different. You’ve got a lot more fans than you normally do for an away day. The prize at the end of it is win or lose. But that dynamic is more for the players to deal with. Can they keep a clear head during every part of the game, whether we’re 1-0 up and holding on at the end or whether we have to go win the game? But I’m confident that the players will take on what we want them to do. They’ve shown they can do that at certain moments throughout the season. It’s just about doing that on this big occasion.

In terms of your own relationship with the fans, Sunday can be transformative. If you get a result there that belief and what you are trying to do this year, is that the way you look at it going into this game?

Results, no matter the game, is what gets you that belief and time. 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 that’s the way it is and you just need to have a calmness to understand it. Opinions are massive on social media now and every week there’s another one doing the rounds. 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.

It is the pearls of short-termism in football, isn't it?

That's it. I'm not in the position for that. I'm not interested in that. That 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'. 

You've played at big clubs, dealt with pressure. Hearts are a big club with a lot of pressure. You wouldn't have taken this role on without considering that in the first place?

100 per cent. I spoke to loads of managers I have worked with, coaches about it all. The overwhelming first reaction to it or talking about different clubs where you might start was 'oofft, that's a big club'. 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. That's the harder part I'm going to have to deal with. My playing career and where I've been, I've been written off after two bad injuries, is what I lean on now where I can be comfortable with where I sit.

I take it you are in this because it's still that buzz you only get at big clubs?

This is the closest I've ever felt to when I was a player. I've managed to coach at the national team at a great level but you are a support act there. You are somebody who is helping and doing all you can. There is value in that but I really believe through my experiences, through the people I have worked with I can do something. The biggest thing for me in Scottish football is we are way behind England. Loads of that is down to money but some of it is not. I think we can do things better. If we can do that then we can have a better club long term which hopefully brings success. 

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What areas can you do better in?

In every area, from coaches to players. If you are in a very small environment and you think 'I'm doing a brilliant job'. What is that brilliant in the wider scale of football? It might not even be average. I've been fortunate that I've been at clubs who have got that and built it. 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.

Better at this club means trophies?

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.

Is the pressure more than you expected? There are times watching you in the technical area and you are kicking every ball?

That part is probably just me, I was like that as a player. If anything it is wasted. I'm ranting or trying to get my point across but the guy on the other side of the pitch is not getting it. You have to be cuter with those moments but that is me just venting. The pressure part is something I'm comfortable with. 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. The two injuries are the two biggest things I've come back from. Everybody wrote me off at Rangers when I was coming back, everybody wrote me off in my first year at Everton and I came back. That gives me confidence. 

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Is it fair to say you could live without this with the career you've had, but is it the buzz?

Yeah it’s this buzz and the size of the club and what I believe. There's no point being at a club that’s no value in investing in it and making it better. I think 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.

You talked about getting the message across on the sideline, you've been on both sides, how difficult is it to listen during a game?

I’ve probably found that quite easy if I’m honest as a player. A manager would just have to tell me something once and I just took it on board, that was it. But everyone’s different and that’s where I’m learning at the moment. Learning when you’re making changes, who you’re bringing on and how to deal with them individually. That’s the biggest learning part for me.  I think I’m a good person, I think I’ve got a bit of humility to understand. And, again, I go back to bad injury times and when I’ve been low. I’ve been on a pitch where I’m like ‘do not let that ball come near me’ so I stand here so I maybe don’t get it.  I understand players go through that so I can use that to say ‘listen’. Kenneth Vargas - (hadn’t) scored. I talked to him about not scoring. Who cares? You’re doing a good job and that moment will come. Like I said to you, you’ll come on as a sub and you’ll score. And that happens because I’ve done that. So passing that on is what I hope can get the best out of the players. 

What have you learned from Ibrox?

I think, and again being honest with our group, I think there is a small moment of that first goal going in, similar to the derby the two goals going in very quickly. There’s parts that we feel are unjust and we should have got the better of the game from refereeing decisions, time added on, whatever it may be, but we can’t affect that so we need to learn from that and say ‘no we could go here all day and we will still defend this way. And just getting better at the bits we did well because we are a good team. We can cause team’s problems. We’ve shown it there, we’ve got the video and that’s how we work.

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As someone who has been to Hampden on plenty of occasions, is that something where you think you can give value to your team, the small things like the bus ride to the stadium, the dressing room? 

That’s stuff I’m not sure plays that big a part. I think it’s more when you’re out there and then it's the realisation that this is going and at the end of the day it’s the two sets of fans that are going and giving it an unbelievable atmosphere. It’s about dealing with that - and saying it’s unbelievable but it’s no different to last week at Ibrox, it’s not different to playing at Tynie. It’s 11 guys vs 11 guys and we’ve probably got the benefit of there’s not that much pressure on us because everyone thinks we’re going to get beat. Simple as that.

Does Craig Gordon play any bigger part given how close he is to coming back?

Not just Craig - one thing I’ve liked about this squad, last season when we played in the derby games, this season they all want to be part of this. They all want to be part of it when we go to Ibrox, and they’ll be around the squad even though they’re not playing, they want to be there. This weekend they all want to be part of the squad so it’s everybody. It’s Craig Gordon, it’s Barrie MacKay, it’s Craig Halkett. Everybody that’s not involved, playing their part in it and I don’t even need to work to get that bit here because they’ve all got it. They all want to be part of it. They want to be successful. 

Following what happened in Dundee during the week is there any concern about what could be expected from some fans?

I think for me, one of the biggest things for games is the atmosphere. I’ve managed to play in them - it’s unbelievable. Hampden especially, can be pretty poor when it’s half full but see when it’s full it’s brilliant atmosphere, it’s great games. So you want that. In terms of pyrotechnics and stuff, until it’s safe, the safety has to override all of that and it needs to be safe, but you still want an unbelievable atmosphere. So however we get that, that’s what needs to be there. 

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