Fresh Hearts plans to promote academy players into the first-team as decisions are taken to avoid 'killing' them

Riccarton academy lads will get their chance to prove they can cope in amongst the senior squad.

It is no coincidence that Hearts are tying youth players down on new contracts whilst B team coach Steven Naismith and academy director Frankie McAvoy are in interim charge of the first team. The Riccarton youth system has been criticised for underproducing in recent years, but plans are afoot to change that.

Winger Bobby McLuckie (16), midfielder Macaulay Tait (17) and striker James Wilson (16) all signed new deals last week, with up to 10 young players training with the senior squad under Naismith’s watch. Hearts invest a considerable six-figure annual sum in their academy and require more of a return from it.

However, the decision of when and how to introduce a prodigious talent remains a precarious business. Naismith and McAvoy are only overseeing the first team until the end of the season as things stand. Whether that arrangement continues thereafter will depend on Hearts’ performances and results during the final five games. They must tread carefully with every young player.

Naismith acknowledges the temptation to throw kids in but is realistic and cautious enough to know the dangers. Hearts effectively face five cup final scenarios over the next few weeks as they try to overhaul a five-point gap and beat Aberdeen to third place in the Premiership. Pressure and scrutiny will be intense.

So, whilst keen to show academy graduates a clear pathway to the first team, right now is a difficult time to facilitate that breakthrough. Some featured in Friday’s closed-door friendly against St Johnstone and will continue to get opportunities to show their aptitude for competitive action.

“Six to ten youngsters have been involved in training since I've been taking the first team,” said Naismith, speaking exclusively to the Evening News. “As I've said, if they are training with the first team then they are a first-team player that day. The response from the younger players has been great. It plants the seed so they can take the opportunity.

“Some of them were involved on Friday and got minutes on the pitch. It's up to them to show that they are good enough and can deal with being in that pressure situation. That's the only way they are going to get a chance. They need to be ready. I'm not just going to put kids on the pitch for the sake of it.

Hearts interim manager Steven Naismith stands alongside youth academy director Frankie McAvoy.

“I believe we have young players who can play but they need to be confident enough to go in. Longer-term, I personally believe it's got to be a big part of this club that we have academy players in the first team. I could think: 'I've got this role till the summer, I'll throw some kids in because it will look good.' Yes, it might look okay for me, but it could kill those kids if they are not ready and not in the right frame of mind.

“Young players will get every opportunity but, behind the scenes, the opportunity is that they are on the first-team training pitch most days. That shows them the level they need to reach. They see players in their position, so their positioning and one-touch or two-touch play needs to be as good as the senior guy's.

“This is a step up from the B team. We are doing all we can. It will be a case of when the young lads are ready rather than promoting them just to get young players in the first team.”

Confidence lifted at Riccarton following the 6-1 over Ross County, which ended a run of six straight defeats for Hearts in Naismith’s second game in charge. His philosophy is based around an aggressive, attacking mindset. A considerable amount of time has been spent imparting more of that to players before Premiership business resumes this weekend against Celtic.

James Wilson has signed a new deal with Hearts. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

The league title could be decided at Tynecastle Park on Sunday and Hearts’ motivation is to spoil the party. “I've said consistently since I took over that this is a good group,” stated Naismith. “There's no negativity, no underconfident players, but you initially get the bounce from a change. The derby result against Hibs was a tough moment. You lose the first game and you think you're up against it and morale will be low, but at no point have I actually seen that.

“The players have been really good. I think they are buying into what we are trying to do. The content we are giving them every day is massive. We can show them good moments and tell them: 'The only reason we are having good moments is because we've got really good players.'

“The good players get you out of tight situations. What I'm asking them to do is to make it easier, so we don't just need good players to get us out of those situations. Everybody in the squad knows what we do in and out of possession, they understand what we do to get chances, and I think you saw that against Ross County.

“It was totally different to the way things have been played a lot of the time, what we've been trying to get them to do, and the positions on the pitch. That's why we got the result. I think it has gone unnoticed that Ross County have the fifth-best defensive record in the league.

“It's not that we came up against a team that is rock-bottom, isolated, not even in a fight. Their defensive record is more than respectable within the league.”