Steven Naismith reveals key Hearts star a doubt for Rangers

Steven Naismith met the press after the match where he was asked about his team selection, the turnaround against Livi and Calem Nieuwenhof's fitness.

READ MORE: Hearts instant analysis: McKay and Oda impact, Gordon return and squad depth on show

Here's everything the head coach had to say:

Did that go as you expected?

We didn’t come out the changing room for the first 10-15 minutes! It was a poor start, really poor, really sloppy, and then brilliant. We lost two goals but it’s the third time we have come back. So that part I’m pleased with. But I knew when we were 2-0 down we’d come back into the game because we have shown it. The element of having a ruthless streak and being more clinical is something we have talked about. And that part I am really happy with because our speed of attack, our bodies in the box, that’s what gets us back in the game. There were some really good goals.

Pleased that the team didn't panic?

When the second goal goes in there’s a frustration from me and the fans. But the reaction to us going 2-0 down this time compared to Ross County or Dundee was totally different. That shows you we, as a collective, are in a much different positon to where we were. I said before the game Livingston have still got fight. You see it in all their games. The first goal is poor from us. Our reactions are poor. Then Craigy comes out and it’s all a bit panicky, but it was a really composed finish. And the second one’s poor from our point of view as well. But at no point did I think we need to his the panic button or change it. We didn’t even change what we were doing, we just had to get better. We knew with their aggressive pass we would have a free player. We started finding that free player and exposed them.

What was the thinking behind starting Gordon today?

He’s been playing in the cup and I thought it was a good opportunity to get him a game before the semi-final. That was the decision.

Did you expect the team to react so quickly to going 2-0 down?

From the previous games, our reaction has been good in those moments and I think that’s shown. We didn’t get sucked into hitting it long or getting into a fight. We still tried to pass it and we found that free player, which then opens the whole game up. And then the players at the right times made good forward runs, which creates those opportunities.

You made six changes to the team, was that to give players a chance to impress before the semi-final?

I think it was a mixture. A couple of the boys hadn’t trained all week, so their training time wasn’t up to the level that I thought it was worth starting them. And then with the way we thought the game was going to be, we thought we needed certain players. Barrie came in because he has got that quality and he showed that for the first goal by finding that pass. And we need to get players minutes that haven’t had them to get them up to speed. But ultimately it was because I thought the players out on the pitch could win us the game.

This result means that Hearts can't finish lower than fourth, so you now have European football to look forward to?

It’s pleasing but our aim is confirmed European football, and there are still some hurdles to get over. We are pleased because we won the game, got the points and it cuts out another game in our bid for third. We are in a good position for that and we have got to drive for that. The win today also gives us a good couple of games going into the semi-final.

Were you pleased to see Grant, Oda and Devlin making runs into the six-yard box?

It’s somethig that we have spoken about. Whenever the ball gets to certain points on the pitch, the thought can’t be ‘build up’, it has to be about finishing. That’s the most pleasing part for us. We had bodies in the box and the amount of times we squared the ball and had players running in for a tap-in, it was excellent. It’s a way that we can really hurt teams. In the past when we’ve not killed games off, it’s because we’ve not had enough boys in the box. That was a big pleasing aspect.

Is Nieuwenhof available for Sunday?

Probably not – he won’t have trained enough. He is not in the plans to train at the start of the week so I think he will be struggling to be involved.