Hearts dynamic changed but Steven Naismith is wary of Scotland's top scorers Dundee

Dens Park hosts an intriguing Premiership fixture this Saturday

Dundee’s goalscoring exploits so far this season depict them as a genuine threat to Hearts. The Premier Sports cameras will live broadcast Saturday evening’s encounter from Dens Park doubtless hoping the hosts continue their attacking form after 20 goals in five games. Steven Naismith is rightfully wary of the danger on Tayside.

The Hearts head coach is preparing his players to stifle a Dundee team currently the highest-scoring in Scotland, whilst also utilising their own forwards on one of the country’s bigger playing surfaces. Both clubs began the 2024/25 Premiership with draws last weekend and will want three points to gain momentum this week.

Whilst the 0-0 result against Rangers at Tynecastle Park was Hearts’ first competitive outing of the campaign, Dundee have been in meaningful action since 13 July. Their Premier Sports Cup campaign was a rousing success with four straight victories. They beat Bonnyrigg Rose 7-1, Arbroath 2-0, Annan Athletic 3-1 and Inverness CT 6-0. A 2-2 league draw across the road at rivals Dundee United took them to 20 goals already.

“We will set up how we feel is best to stop them building up and getting control of the game, and also creating chances,” Naismith explained to the Edinburgh News. “There are a lot of parts of the team that we have highlighted in terms of what we need to do in certain situations. We have worked hard on that this week. When we do have the ball, we need to punish them.

“Dundee carry a threat, their wing-backs naturally get involved in attacks, then you have their two most creative players in [Lyall] Cameron and [Luke] McCowan. They have raeal quality so you need to impact them as much as possible.”

The addition of Simon Murray - signed as a free agent after his contract at Ross County expired - merely enhances Dundee’s goalscoring capacity. The bustling striker finished last season with 23 goals from 46 appearances in the Highlands and already has five in four games for his new club.

“The signing of Simon Murray is a good one,” acknowledged Naismith. “Individually, he had a very good season last year. He gives Dundee a bit of experience and something different from what they had last season. They are good going forward and their recruitment tells you that.

“Last year, they were in the top bracket of teams who had successful seasons. That’s from where their expectation was and where the outside perception saw them. I thought they showed a good level of consistency and they are a really well-organised and well-coached team.

“The players who have stayed have an understanding. You see that even in the derby last week. They found it tough for first half-hour and took a bit of time to get into their stride, but then they have the quality to score, get back in the game, and keep going and pushing. That’s why they get the penalty.”

Hearts are not exactly shot-shy with 31-goal Lawrence Shankland leading their forward line. Such is the intensity of competition for in Gorgie that new signing Musa Drammeh was left in the stand against Rangers alongside the Japanese internationalist Kyosuke Tagawa. Naismith is managing a first-team squad of 28 players, with a 29th imminent in the shape of Andrés Salazar.

No longer is it possible for Hearts players to expect an automatic starting slot. Shankland is perhaps the only exception within a squad which has changed drastically over the last 14 months. “It’s a good conundrum to have. At the moment, there is so much competition even for the places on the bench,” said Naismith. “For players, that is hard to deal with and I totally understand that. There needs to be an element of trust when we say that this will change because the games are going to come thick and fast so we will need everybody.

“The coaches have sympathy with the squad but also the squad need to accept that this is the level we have at the club now. The dynamic has changed from anybody being comfortable as a number one starter to understanding that you need to perform all the time to give yourself the best chance to play.”

The encouraging display against Rangers offers hope that Hearts will be stronger this year than last. “We are a year on, so we're in a better place than a year ago. Doing recruitment early helps because people understand things earlier,” explained Naismith. “All these small details are making a big difference. It's not that we've arrived or we've done it. We need to continually push each other every day. We show that.

“Yan [Dhanda] comes off at 65 mins last week, Spitts [Blair Spittal] doesn't start, that's things that these new players have to adjust to and deal with. Yan has probably played 90 minutes or near enough in every game last season for Ross County but the club is bigger and the demand is there. He has worked so hard that he's giving his all. Then Spitts comes on and he contributes.

“These are things the new players need to accept and deal with, but we have a really good group who all drive each other. That's why we get the performance we got on Saturday. That was the first week of it [managing team selection]. Everybody realises it, they're not going to be happy and they're not going to want it, but they need to trust me and I need to trust them that they will give their all.

“I think we are quite big on things like: If the level drops one day in training, we don't just try to grind through it. We will stop and say: 'This is happening, and the reason is either an individual player, a group of players or a general thing.'

“It will be highlighted and then we make the decision to move forward. 'Are we going to compete and work as hard as we can, or am I going to need to move?' That's the way we work and the players have been receptive to that - and that's why we are in such a good place.”

Much of Naismith’s philosophy makes general sense, even to outsiders. He is obsessed with driving standards higher every day. The Rangers game saw some of those standards reached, however he also sees room for further improvement.

“There are some elements where that's the level we need to have, but the next game is different. Playing at home to Rangers is different from playing at home to Ross County or Motherwell or whoever. The challenge is different. As much as it might look like we don't have the same energy as Saturday, the game is totally different in regards to the tactical element.

“There won't be any real game-for-game comparisons, but we have a lot of things that we like. We have a lot of things that the players have bought into and they agree with. That's why we got the performance on Saturday.”