With Craig Levein returning to Tynecastle Park this afternoon four years on from his dismissal from the top job at Heart of Midlothian, the nature of his reception from the home support has become a hot topic of discussion over the past few days.

Supporters that hold onto a bone of contention from Levein’s playing days or his first stint as manager in Gorgie are few and far between, but the disastrous end to his second spell in the capital has muddied the waters somewhat.

Some fans will surely hail Levein as a bonafide club legend and receive him as such when he emerges from the Tynecastle tunnel. Others, perhaps with shorter memories, will need no second invitation to give the 59-year-old his fair share of stick. One thing is for certain, though: the coach in the opposite dugout will be greeting Levein warmly.

“I think he’ll get a decent reception,” said Naismith, who confirmed that his Hearts squad is approaching full fitness after the international break. “When people leave clubs there’s sometimes anger, frustration, joy, or whatever. But after a period of time people start to look at the bigger picture. There’s no doubt he’s had a good impact at Hearts, whether as a player or as a coach.

“I’ll catch up with him after the game. I first had a relationship with him with the national team. Over the course I found him really open, honest and welcoming. He was happy having a conversation with you and you were comfortable asking him questions. He gave you responsibility.

“The move to Hearts for me came from him having the creativity to get the deal done. I was at Norwich on a Premier League salary and I wasn’t expecting Hearts to be interested or being able to do it.

“When I was here he gave me good responsibility on the pitch and he allowed me to make decisions on the pitch. He trusted me to do that and that was great for me. I’ve picked up a lot from him. There’s not one thing I could sit here and say but I'm certain I’ve picked up things from his coaching and leadership.”

One aspect of Levein’s management style that Naismith has taken on board is the former Scotland boss’ ability to stay cool when the going gets tough. Managing Hearts means dealing with supporters’ high expectations and when the team fail to meet them, fans are rarely shy when it comes to making their disgruntlement known.

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Naismith himself has endured one or two sticky spells as Hearts head coach but the former Kilmarnock, Rangers and Everton striker has remained unflappable even whenever the pressure has ramped up. It’s a trait he shares with Levein, who coached Naismith at Tynecastle and for Scotland.

“When you look back and think about what he was like as a coach and that was one thing – under all the different pressures, he never showed it,” Naismith explained. “As a player he never at any moment made a knee-jerk reaction to anything and appeared very calm and calculated in his decision making.

“That had a positive impact on the squad, I felt. He is somebody who is now seen as an old-school manager and he has that fear factor, but I think it's his honesty and his willingness to allow you to speak and have your point made that were big positives for me when I was a player.”

The next nine matches could well prove decisive for Naismith and Hearts’ season as a whole. Trips to Rugby Park, Pittodrie, Celtic Park and Easter Road are all on the agenda before the Premiership shuts down for the winter break. And with the league table heavily congested, teams know that a single victory or defeat could see them rise or fall a few places.

Rather than feeling daunted by the hectic festive fixture list, though, Naismith views the next nine matches as an opportunity to build up some momentum – particularly with every team in the league facing a similarly demanding schedule.

“I’ve found the breaks positive,” Naismith added. “We know they are coming and it’s about having a good routine. We’ve found them beneficial in terms of where we have progressed to as a group. The thing that makes it better this time is we have nearly all of our injured players back on the grass.

“It’s about consistency for us. There’s been good moments and frustrating moments but we are slowly building consistency in terms of results and performances. It’s about having a bit more control, not seeing loads of turnovers, being less end-to-end.

“We are now in a period where we’ve got a routine. In the early part of the season you need to deal with it being a bit more disruptive. This is the most consistent run of fixtures and it’s an opportunity for us to build.”

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