Steven Naismith met the press in the aftermath of Heart of Midlothian's 2-1 friendly defeat to Leyton Orient at Tynecastle Park on Saturday afternoon.

In a match where fans caught a first glimpse of many of Hearts' summer signings, Liam Boyce gave the men in maroon an early lead before Leyton Orient scored either side of half-time to seal a 2-1 victory for the visitors.

Here's everything Naismith had to say to the media after the match.


What did you make of the game?

It was a good test. I said before the game that they would cause us some problems just with the way they play, which was good. You can tell that sharpness is the next part of pre-season. It's not there - both teams could have scored more goals. It was good for everybody to get minutes, that's a big thing. We have got a busy week. We have got Spurs and a closed doors game the following weekend. For a player it's hard because your brain is working quicker than your feet sometimes. But there were some good bits as well and some of the younger boys had an opportunity to stake a claim. It's a good start for us. It gives everyone an understanding of where they need to get to.

Some players made their first appearance in a maroon jersey, was it about giving them a taste of it?

Probably the first two or three months are going to be that period of players getting used to their surroundings, the pressure and everything about it. It's one of those where in one aspect you want time to pass quite quickly so everyone feels comfortable. But it is a good start for us, a good test for us, and I think throughout pre-season the games will be good quality and will test us. It gives everyone an understanding of where they need to get to.

How's Ethan?

He felt his hamstring. In terms of the severity of it, I'm not sure. We will find out in the next couple of days.

What's the latest with Alex Cochrane?

The club have accepted a bid so that is something that will probably move quite quickly in the next three or four days. For us as a club it’s an example of us finding a talent, who is a good player but who also has a drive to get as high as he can and maximise what he can do in the game. Over the last three or four years he has worked really hard at that. With a year left on his contract it is a good deal for the club. It’s one that Alex wants to take and I think that everybody comes out of it well. We have progressed a player and made a profit on him, and he is moving to a big club and it is one he wants to be at.

It's important to sell him for a fee rather than losing him for nothing next summer?

I think that’s just the business side of football and that’s the way it has got to be. Under certain circumstance you need to sit and weigh up what the benefit is for the club, but as a club you need to produce players. You need to identify ones to bring to the club to make better and sell them one. That’s a good business model and something the club haven’t done well enough over the years. It’s football.


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Will you be signing a replacement?

We are not going to drastically run in and do anything. We will look at the squad but we have got players who can play there – Kingsley, Penrice, Kye Rowles can play there as well. So we have got cover. Over the course of the next month or so we will see exactly where we are sitting in terms of the squad and where everybody is at. But that is something I identified last year – we don’t want to be that club. We did have to in January because we needed a right-back but we don’t want to have to panic and make a big call on a player that we are maybe not sure on. With the way we set up, we are comfortable with the way we look just now.

How's Craig Gordon doing since returning from the Euros?

He's come back in the way he was before he left. He's in good condition. He's worked really hard. Not having too much of an off-season has probably helped - as you get older that always helps. He's in a good place and he's working hard like the rest of them to get that match fitness.

Will the likes of Nieuwenhof, Pollock, Baningime and Kingsley be involved on Wednesday?

No, they won't be involved on Wednesday. Different things. Calem [Nieuwenhof] has had a wee issue with his hamstring and we're waiting to see the severity of it. And the other three [Beni Baningime, Finlay Pollock and Stephen Kingsley] all have picked up knocks during pre-season, nothing too serious. But whether it is a week or two or whenever it may be, they'll be back in when they're ready.

When will Shankland, Clark and Vargas return?

They came back last week when we were away and did some testing and a couple of sessions with the B team. They are back with us come Monday. Kenneth's got a wee bit more time off from when he finished as well. The rest side of it is important so they have all been given enough rest because we've got a busy six months coming up.