Hearts confirm management restructure as Naismith and McAvoy roles changed

Following their UEFA Europa Conference League exit the Tynecastle club have confirmed that Steven Naismith is once again in the position of head coach.

Hearts have announced that Steven Naismith is once again head coach at Tynecastle with Frankie McAvoy returning to his original role as assistant coach.

The Gorgie club released a statement confirming that it was always their intention to revert back to the original coaching structure once domestic football became their only focus. McAvoy had previously been head coach while Naismith was technical director - this was due to the fact that the former Scotland forward is yet to achieve his UEFA Pro Licence which is required for all coaches taking charge of teams in European competition.

Now that the club have been eliminated from the UEFA Europa Conference League at the hands of PAOK, the set up can revert back to how it was at the end of last season. Naismith commented: “Of course, this is a proud moment for me, but I’ve long said that Frankie, Gordy, Gal and I are a team. We work together, tirelessly, and today’s announcement doesn’t change that. Job titles have changed but the core of what we’re trying to achieve has not. We want to build this team up to play attacking, front-foot football that wins games. That attacking football was in evidence at the end of last season although we would obviously have liked more wins to go with it.

“I have also seen some signs of that over the past month, but I want to see more. We all know the last few results have not been what we expected, but we now have the international break to work on the training pitch and put it into practice at Tynecastle on our return. I’d also like to thank the fans for the support they’ve shown the team as well as Frankie and me. It’s very much appreciated, and rest assured that we will do everything we can to put on winning performances that they can be proud of.”

In the same statement, Chief Executive Officer Andrew McKinlay added: “Firstly, I’d like to place on record my thanks to Frankie for all of his hard work over the past few months. He remains an important member of our coaching team, is well-liked amongst the players, and his experience of top-level football has been invaluable around the training ground.

“It is important that we now put all our energies towards targeting the top end of the league and qualification for European competition for a third year in a row which would be a first in the history of the club.”