Why next 8 games are defining for Steven Naismith at Hearts

The bread-and-butter of the Premiership is the main yardstick by which the occupant of the Tynecastle hot-seat is measured, and Hearts’ next eight league outings will tell us a lot about the team’s progress under Steven Naismith. The fixture list is daunting, and there are varied challenges that lie in wait. The players will surely find themselves on the receiving end of plenty of stern examinations – and how they face up to them could define the whole season.

Including the interim spell, Naismith has overseen 25 matches. There is an increasing need to give supporters a team they can believe in. The sluggish start to the season is seen by many as a missed opportunity, given the relatively accomodating fixure list Hearts were presented with. In the end, Naismith's side won just four of their opening 11 matches as they struggled to handle the demands of European football. The team have been ineffective in the final third, averaging less than a goal a game on league duty, and could potentially drop out of the top six altogether if results go a certain way in midweek with Hibs at St Mirren and St Johnstone hosting Motherwell. In a worst-case scenario, Hearts could even find themselves closer to the bottom of the table than third in terms of points. Points on the board are sorely needed - and soon.

READ MORE: Why Hearts attack struggled against Rangers as uncertainty evident

The run starts with a trip to Motherwell this weekend. Stuart Kettlewell’s side started the season in excellent form, picking up 10 points from their opening four games before the team’s form nosedived. The Steelmen are winless in seven and it could be eight by the time they kick-off on Saturday with a midweek clash against St Johnstone. They will be desperate to get back to winning ways and stop the rot on Saturday. With that, there will be a common view from Hearts fan. 'A team needing a win? Step forward Heart of Midlothian Football Club.'

Hearts have witnessed first hand the threat Motherwell pose on a good day. The last time they won a match was a 1-0 success at Tynecastle at the beginning of September. It was well-deserved and Naismith will have to show that he has learned from that defeat if Hearts are to leave Lanarkshire with three points in tow.

The timing of the fixture should be noted. An international break follows. Should Hearts lose at Fir Park the pressure from fans will ramp up across two weeks. There will be no game or opportunity to alleviate that pressure or right the wrongs.

A home encounter with St Johnstone is then next on the agenda, and it is hard to see how anything less than a victory will do. The Perth outfit have had a poor start to the season but they showed signs of life in last week’s 2-1 win over St Mirren. Not to mention the fact that with Craig Levein at the helm, the team is certain to become well-organised and difficult to break down. Saints could very well be a different animal than the one Hearts beat 2-0 at McDiarmid Park earlier in the season.

A trip to Rugby Park follows that, and Hearts can surely take inspiration from October’s 2-1 win in Ayrshire in the League Cup quarter-finals. Having said that, Derek McInnes’ men showed in the goalless draw earlier in the season in Gorgie that they are more than capable of frustrating their opponents and victory is by no means guaranteed. McInnes’ teams have a well-earned reputation of being difficult to play against and the fixture will provide a tricky test for Hearts.

The men in maroon will likely control most of the ball in these three fixtures, and they will be an exercise in breaking down a stubborn defence. In the following game, though, the tables will be turned when Rangers make the journey along the M8 for a midweek encounter under the lights at Tynecastle. A new game plan will be required, too. The defensive set-up in Sunday’s defeat and the one at Ibrox the week before are more understandable when the game takes place in Glasgow; in the capital, there will be a far greater demand to play on the front foot and take the game to Rangers.

READ MORE: How League Cup agony further diminished Hearts fans' belief of making the next step

Three days later, Pittodrie beckons. It hasn’t been the most accommodating of venues in recent years. Ten trips in six seasons without success. Hearts haven’t won there since May 2016 and have lost each of their last seven visits. Naismith’s side follow that up with a trip to Celtic Park. A venue where Hearts have an even worse record, picking up just one point in the east end of Glasgow since September 2015. You have to go back to April 2007 to find the last time the men in maroon won a league match at Parkhead. What better statement than altering those records.

St Mirren at home is next up on the fixture list. Again, the earlier encounter this season served as an apt demonstration of the sorts of headaches that Stephen Robinson’s hard-working and well-drilled team can cause their opponent – Hearts lost 1-0 but on another day it could have been three or four – and the league table doesn’t lie, either. The Buddies are currently four points clear of Hearts in third with a game in hand and they are there on merit. Whether or not the Paisley club have the required squad depth to stay there until the end of the season remains to be seen, but there is no getting around the fact that St Mirren out-fought and out-thought Hearts in that win in September, and have done the very same to plenty of other top-flight sides too. Robinson won the tactical battle that day, and Naismith requires a new plan of attack. The tricky run of games then concludes with the biggest match of all: a midweek derby under the lights at Easter Road.

If Hearts can make it through this period relatively unscathed by putting in promising performances at some of the country’s most demanding venues and getting points on the board in challenging circumstances, then supporters will know that the team – and Naismith – are on the right track. With Hibs and Aberdeen still to truly get going this season, the opening exchanges of the league campaign represented a missed opportunity for Hearts, who could have built up a nice lead on their most likely rivals for third place.

READ MORE: Five key Hearts questions posed by semi-final defeat to Rangers - Video

These next eight games present an opportunity, too. Sure, the fixture list is more demanding but this time there will be no other distractions in the shape of European qualifiers or cup ties – and no more excuses, either. This is a results business, and Hearts need to start getting them. Should Hearts seize their chance and secure some encouraging wins, Naismith will have given supporters a team to believe in and earned their goodwill. Fail to grasp it by regularly dropping points or losing, and the repercussions could be season-defining. Hearts are supposed to be Scotland's third force - and runs like this are the perfect opportunity to show just that.