New Hearts signing this week as Steven Naismith explains why Blair Spittal is suffering

The midfielder has not been used in his best position during pre-season

With Hearts close to completing the signing of Malachi Boateng from Crystal Palace, head coach Steven Naismith is looking forward to seeing Blair Spittal in his favoured position further forward. Barring any late hitches, Boateng’s deal should be completed this week to strengthen the defensive midfield area at Riccarton ahead of the new Premiership season.

The 22-year-old is a specialist holding midfielder who was on loan at Dundee last season and Queen’s Park the year before. He displays a mixture of aggression and composure, which should help Hearts whilst Beni Baningime and Calem Nieuwenhof recover from injury. Spittal has filled the traditional No.6 role for most of pre-season in their absence and was again the deepest midfielder during Saturday’s friendly defeat at Fleetwood Town.

Naismith acknowledged that the former Motherwell player is better suited to an attacking midfield berth. He played the best football of his career last season, scoring an impressive 13 goals and 11 assists, in the No.10 position. He can also operate to the left or right but is most effective in a central attacking area. Hearts have used him deeper so far partly because of personnel restrictions and also to see how he fared.

“A bit of both. I'm trying to work out exactly the limits he has got,” explained Naismith. “He can easily play in the forward positions, we know that, we know his quality from last season. At the moment, with the injuries we've got, we need to find somebody who will sit in there.”

That has led to Spittal suffering as he is not able to produce his best form in his preferred area of the pitch. “He has actually suffered the most out of everybody because we have asked him to play there when really that isn't where he wants to be on the pitch. Through pre-season, it gave me an opportunity to see if it's an area of the pitch where he can contribute when needed,” added Naismith.

The manager did not mention Boateng by name but admitted a new midfield recruit is in the offing as Hearts prepare to open their 2024/25 William Hill Premiership campaign against Rangers at Tynecastle. “Yeah, hopefully in the next few days we will get something over the line and sorted for that area,” he said. “We've got Calem and Beni injured and that has caused us a big issue because they are our two most natural No.6s. We will look to do something.”