"Really good".

Steven Naismith's evaluation of the first half of the season for Heart of Midlothian. A glance at the cinch Premiership table and it is an accurate assessment. A 2-1 victory over Livingston on Tuesday ensured the team went into the winter break in third place with a five-point lead over Kilmarnock in fourth. The advantage over Aberdeen and Hibs stands at 14 and 11 points.

Scratch below the surface, look beyond the league standings, and it has been far from straightforward since the 2-0 win over St Johnstone in Perth to start the campaign and even stretching back into the summer. Hearts have sat second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and as low as eighth. It has been a season that saw the managerial appointment garner plenty of attention. There was an inconsistent start leading to protests. But it's also been a season that saw a 16-year Celtic Park hex end and a sensational Lawrence Shankland produce again and again and again. Importantly, it is a season that has so far brought gradual improvement despite the oscillation from one month to the next.

This is the story of the first half of the campaign at Tynecastle Park.

READ MORE: Steven Naismith: Hearts recruitment role, squad evaluation and 4 transfer categories

Before this season can be tackled it is important to rewind the clock to earlier in the year. Hearts blew their chance of back-to-back third-place finishes for the first time since 2002-2004. A run of two wins from nine between the end of January and the middle of April cost Robbie Neilson his job. Naismith, in an interim role, was unable to steer the team back on course but did ensure a fourth-place finish, holding off Hibs. It was aided by a draw against their Capital rivals in the final game of the season, Hearts battling to secure a point despite playing a large chunk of the game with 10 men. It was a battle that continued after the full-time whistle as players and staff from both teams clashed on the pitch.

"Going to that last game of the season against Hibs, that fight, that desire, that hunger not to get beat," sporting director Joe Savage told Hearts Standard earlier in the season." We were down to 10 men, we had to defend, we had to stay in a low block and we defended brilliantly. At that point, I think everyone thought ‘Steven deserves this opportunity, deserves a chance to showcase the ability he has shown and the prowess of his coaching and he will get better and better’.

The summer at Tynecastle was defined by the managerial appointment.

Naismith had plenty of backing within the club's support to be handed the job full-time. Not universal support but what manager gets that? However, what followed took everyone by surprise. Due to a lack of Pro Licence and the club's European involvement, Naismith was appointed technical director and Frankie McAvoy as head coach.

It promoted confusion - some of which was exaggerated - and looked clunky. None more so than when Naismith and McAvoy were interviewed together on Sky Sports. But it had to be the way, even if Hearts made it all the way to the Conference League final. The knock-on effect meant anything Hearts done was treated with extra scrutiny, putting Naismith behind the 8-ball when he did become the head coach, officially.

Excitement was generated in the summer by the signings of Kenneth Vargas and Kyosuke Tagawa, while the release of the shirt celebrating the club's 150th anniversary saw queues snake around Foundation Plaza.

When action got underway, to say that August was a mixed bag would be an understatement. That contrast could be viewed through two matches 10 days apart. Hearts produced a European night in Gorgie for a generation of fans. Fans who have grown up with tales of Lokomotive Leipzig and Bayern Munich had their own night under the Tynecastle lights. For the Conference League qualifying tie with Rosenborg, the (not-so-)Old Lady found its voice. Tynie was partisan and passionate, rocking and raucous. The packed crowd that night helped Hearts overturn a 3-1 aggregate deficit after the Norwegians had scored early to add to their 2-1 first-leg success in Trondheim. The team responded and engaged those in the stands and vice versa. It was the best performance of the season, the type that resonates with the Hearts support. High-tempo, aggressive, direct, full of energy. Cammy Devlin was the unlikely two-goal hero.

Walking out of the stadium 90 minutes after full-time having finished work, Gorgie Road was full of joy, supporters spilling out of the Tynie Arms, Ardmillan and Diggers, singing down the street. Comparable to moments you see on TV of when wars or prohibition ended. Before realising, you had been swept up to the Athletic Arms to give it its Sunday name.

Then came Dens Park. Full-time saw anger and rancor in the away stand. The Hearts support were clearly and visibly frustrated with the 1-0 loss, the goal conceded in comical fashion. It epitomised a feature of the team early in the campaign, that of giving up cheap goals. 

The frustration witnessed that afternoon, carried into September, October and even November. 

Hearts failed to put together back-to-back league wins in the first three months of the season and ultimately exited Europe with a whimper, going down 6-1 on aggregate to Greek side PAOK. The feeling was that there was a missed opportunity. Both in Europe and in the league. Points were dropped at home to Kilmarnock and Motherwell. A two-goal lead was given up to Hibs.

At Kilmarnock in the League Cup, a banner aimed at the board demanding better was unfurled. Four days later, chants aimed at the board were heard at Ross County. Savage spoke of the abuse he received. Later in the season, there was a tense Heart of Midlothian Shareholders Association meeting with club chief executive Andrew McKinlay.

Hearts won at both Killie and County. But anytime it appeared a corner had been turned, it would shift as if Dr Strange was anti-Hearts. It simply speaks to the edginess that shaped much of the first half of the season with games viewed as must-win for Naismith, who was officially appointed head coach once the team had exited Europe.

During it all, Naismith has remained calm and level-headed. Not once has he appeared flustered or given off the impression that the pressure was getting to him. He understands the club having been a player before his move into coaching. He has played with and under pressure most of his career. Whether it be at Rangers, Everton or the Scotland national team. He radiates assuredness which will no doubt help internally and externally. 

There were reasons for fans to be doubtful or even concerned by his appointment. Some held the view that Hearts are too big a club for a manager in their first job at first-team level, especially after McKinlay, back in April, suggested the club may go down the route of "a manager who has a proven track record as a winner". Both Naismith and Savage have acknowledged those concerns.

It has been a learning curve. One which has happened under scrutiny and suspicion. The nature of the appointment was always going to put Naismith on the back foot if the team didn't start well. Yet, he has been an example of why patience is valuable. Slowly but surely, the season has changed, the mood music has changed, the feeling has changed.

You could point to various instances as key staging posts. The 4-1 loss to Celtic was one. It prompted a switch from a back four to a back three. Fans have used Naismith's comments around the style of play he wanted to instill as a stick to beat him with. There have been learnings and an element of pragmatism. Wins at Kilmarnock and Livingston in the league are two such examples. 

"You work every day about the main things you want to be as a team," he said after the Livi win. "You can get sucked into saying 'but we do this'. But when you play on pitches like this, it's not worth the risk."

The back three has suited much of the personnel, especially defensively. In turn, Hearts have become a nightmare to play against. That has been the foundation on which the team's upturn in form over the last two months has been built. There have been 10 clean sheets and the club have the best defensive record outside of the Old Firm. The signing of Frankie Kent has been an inspired one. He's earned his own song and become a fan favourite, but importantly, he provided the team with qualities that were lacking following Craig Halkett's injury halfway through last season.

Hearts eked out a win over Livi at home in November but the win at Motherwell was a big one in the context of the season, certainly in the eyes of the supporters. It came after defeat to Rangers in the League Cup semi-final. The team didn't lay a glove on the Ibrox side who were still in a period of transition between managers. The Fir Park fixture came before an international break. Defeat would have increased the noise and the pressure, externally.

The team produced an excellent performance, once which deserved more than a 2-1 win.

It also saw Lawrence Shankland net a double, beginning a run of 10 goals in 10 games. He has been the player of the season, and not just for Hearts. No individual has been more important to his side. To think there were calls for him to be dropped when he experienced a goal drought. It is no surprise that when he found the back of the net again, Hearts began winning matches. In that 10-game spell, his goals have been worth 14 points.

There has been a reliance on Shankland. But there are signs that others stepping up. Alan Forrest has shown gradual improvement, while Kenneth Vargas looks ready to take on a bigger role after the break with more goals required by the squad as a whole. Naismith has not been helped by an injury situation which has cost him both Barrie McKay and Liam Boyce for periods, as well as others.

Another staging post was the loss to Aberdeen. Hearts led 1-0 at the interval at Pittodrie but conspired to lose. After four straight wins in the league, the team followed up a loss at home to Rangers with a defeat in the Granite City. It called into question whether the team were actually going in the right direction.

Tough words were had in the dressing room afterward and at a meeting on Monday. Naismith said his team had been "bullied".

It appears a line in the sand was drawn at that point in terms of mentality within games. 

A few days later, the AGM took place. Quite possibly the worst time for the Hearts board at any point over the last two months. But any expectation of a tense morning - and into the afternoon - in the Gorgie Suite didn't materialise. The board was quizzed and questioned but no questions were shirked by Savage, McKinlay or Ann Budge.

Back on the pitch, the team may have stalled against Rangers and Aberdeen but they started to go through the gears once more, racking up key results and, in turn, Naismith has been notching milestones. He has got the team winning away from home and Hearts are on course for their best top-flight away performance since 1991/92. Importantly, he has built credit.

Hearts won at Celtic Park, comfortably. The last time the team had won in the east end of Glasgow in the league was in 2007. Kestutis Ivaskevicius was amongst the scorers. It was followed up by a confident display against St Mirren and then a derby win in the best possible way, leaving it until stoppage time.

At that point, there was little reason to be unhappy with the direction of the team under Naismith. It wasn't a case of 'job done', far from it, but it was a case of continued progression. Only, that tension that is constantly simmering below the surface at Tynecastle Park could be heard in the very next game in the derby as Hearts fell 2-0 behind at home to Ross County. One fan behind the press box blasted Naismith with a couple of expletives thrown in. But a development of this team is that they are made of sterner stuff. They rescued a point and ensured they finished the job before the winter break with a win at Livingston.

Hearts, five months on from the start of the season, are in a great position.

It has been quite the season so far at Tynecastle Park. As anyone reading this will know, it is far from straightforward in EH11. But would you have it any other way?

There is plenty more that could still be said, namely the continued frustration with refereeing decisions and VAR, but it is time to look forward to the second half of the campaign. The team came into the break on an upward trajectory, improving in different facets of their play and Naismith displaying why the club's board had faith in him all those months ago. 

Now, the aim is to ensure the advantage gained in the first half is built upon and not squandered in the pursuit of a third-place finish and possible group stage European football.