Hearts coach Steven Naismith responds after being linked with a move to England

Reported interest from London was brought to the Tynecastle manager's attention

Steven Naismith today responded to reported interest from England on the back of his recent progress with Hearts. The Tynecastle head coach is aware of reports linking him to EFL Championship side Millwall, although he has not been contacted by anyone from The Den.

Hearts hold a 13-point lead sitting third in the Scottish Premiership after 12 wins, two draws and just one defeat from their last 15 matches in all competitions. Naismith is currently preparing his squad for Monday's Scottish Cup quarter-final away to Greenock Morton.

A report stating Millwall and other English clubs are keeping tabs on him appeared online on Tuesday. Millwall appointed a new manager just last month when Neil Harris returned to Bermondsey on a contract until summer 2025. Naismith is said to be a potential future candidate for the job, however he is not distracted by such talk.

He explained his future plans to the Edinburgh News and stated he has no thoughts of leaving Hearts right now. He only took charge of the club's first team last summer after spells as player development manager and B team coach. His contract in Edinburgh also runs until summer 2025 and carries an option to extend beyond that point.

"Since I've retired from playing, I've had a picture of the route I want to take and what I want to do," said Naismith. "Through my playing career, I had an understanding of the steps to take to be successful. This is my first year taking a team at senior level. It's the first step and it's probably a big first step.

"I could have made a choice to take an easier first step regarding the demand and size of club. I'm enjoying every minute of it at Hearts and our focus is on being successful. You get linked and your name gets put towards different stories at times. That either happens when you are doing really poorly and you're due the sack, or you are doing really well and people are noticing. In some respects it's nice to see, but I'm not really taking much notice of it.

"I'm at the very early stages of my managerial career. It takes time to get your point across and get your understanding of the players. We are in a good moment and we've done loads of hard work to get to this point. I want to continue that. The uncertainty of the football world is there and that is what it is, but I've experienced enough of it to understand what is good for me and what is not."

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