'Hopefully not the last one' - Steven Naismith on new Hearts deal

He extended his stay at Tynecastle Park until 2026, along with his coaching staff Frankie McAvoy, Gordon Forrest and goalkeeping coach Paul Gallacher.

Read everything the Hearts boss had to say...

Is the new deal reward for last season's success?

Yeah, I think it is. It's probably the hard work that has gone in and the success we had - and probably the things everybody doesn't see like progression behind the scenes. Whether it be the recruitment, developing coaching staff, bringing Lee Wallace in and Angus Beith, there has been loads of progress. The facility is getting better. It's partly seeing the bigger picture. With the way the deal was structured at the start, this was always something that could happen. I think it's been a good fit in our first year.

Frankie, Forrest and Gallacher have been key. It also gives them security?

I've worked with Gall at the club, I worked with Gordy as a player and a coach, and I worked with Frankie when I was at a player at Norwich. Then I worked with him up here in his role with the academy. I think we fit really well together. When I was a player and you know you're going down this [management] route, you start to think of who would you have working with you. Right from the off, Frankie and Gordy were guys high on my list. It probably fell into place much easier than I expected. If I got a job somewhere else and you're trying to prise people away from jobs, it can be more difficult. Gordy and Frankie were in roles but, being at the club and it all being internal, it was something that could be done very easily. It probably didn't look as straightforward as that to the public. Gordy was a coach before and Frankie was in the academy but, being deadly serious, that's who I would have picked if I'd gone anywhere in my first job.

Dynamics of the three of you in coaching room?

It's honest. I would extend that and say it's not just the three of us - it's Gall, the analysis boys, the performance and physios. I want the information they give me and ultimately I'll come to a decision. Everybody has to be comfortable enough to speak their mind. That's what we've got and that's how we've worked.On matchdays at the side of the pitch, yes it's more intense and it's the three of us deciding what will happen. They are in the job because I value their opinion.

Has it gone better than expected, the whole package?

Probably hard to say, there was a lot that I expected and things would be a lot like they are. There are elements that I didn't think they would be the way they are. It probably has gone better than I expected because of the amount of hard work and change we have managed to do. That's the way we play, the squad in general. It's the whole bigger picture, the facility, the way we prepare, our nutrition, the chefs we've got. I would argue in some areas we have got the best in the league.

When you look back to the start of last season to now, how comfortable do you feel?

Comfortable is a good word. I am much more comfortable in it. The element of having hard conversations with players or the board or anybody. You don't get that from a coaching badge. The only way you get that is through experience. In the first year, I have had to do that a lot. I'm definitely much more comfortable in all aspects of the job now I would say.

How would you compare the outside noise from being a manager to being a player?

There is more of it but as a player, it was very much like that. I was at clubs where that noise was there. The noise is going to be there from international level. I've managed to always deal with it quite well. Everybody has got a job to do, fans have got an opinion, pundits have got a job to do and they will say what they think but I know where we are and I know what we are about. That's why last season I didn't get too carried away either way. I am comfortable with that aspect of that.

(Image: Paul Byars - SNS Group)

Does it help to have a good structure behind you?

Definitely. That was a big thing. That was probably the biggest area where I wasn't sure if I would get into management or not because if you go in at certain levels and you have not got that structure it is a big, big job. I have admiration for guys who are in those jobs because it is so tough. I've been fortunate I got an opportunity at a club where there is a real good structure, there are loads of people there to help you and a board that will back you. That was probably the biggest thing from me thinking, 'Right, where do I go and get a job? Where is my first job going to be?' I'm grateful I got this one.

Must be good to have a show of faith from the board?

I think it is the hard work and good work that we have done. It's two ways. If last season didn't go so well I'm not sure I'd be sitting here, maybe out a job by Christmas. The flip of it, the structure of the contract originally, shows there is an element they can show faith and reward us and that's what's happened. Hopefully, it is not the last one.