Steven Naismith's former teammate says he 'fears' for Hearts gaffer's job if poor run continues

Steven Naismith's Hearts have endured a miserable start to the new Scottish Premiership season. | Getty Images

Former Rangers and Scotland striker Kris Boyd claims Hearts are a million miles away from where they should be in terms of performances on the pitch and admits that he fears that time might be running out for former teammate Steven Naismith to turn things around in the capital.

Hearts kicked off the season with a hard-fought 0-0 draw against last term’s runners-up Rangers but have since produced a series of lacklustre performances both domestically and in Europe.

The Jambos were beaten 3-1 by Dundee in their second league match of the season before suffering a shock 2-0 cup exit at the hands of Championship side Falkirk.  A 3-1 defeat to Motherwell in the league was then sandwiched between back-to-back 1-0 defeats to Czech side Viktoria Plzen before another crushing home defeat against a newly promoted Dundee United team.

As it stands, Hearts are joint bottom of the Scottish Premiership table with only a goal difference separating them from basement club Kilmarnock after four matches.

Naismith impressively steered the capital side to a third place finish last term, but the manner of results and even more alarmingly performances has left the 37-year-old facing genuine scrutiny for the first time in his managerial career.

Boyd claims he fears for the Hearts boss if results don’t change quickly but has still backed them to finish in the top half and finish fifth in the league table.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the 18-time Scotland international explained: “I've been very disappointed by Hearts so far. They've played two European games in addition to their domestic duties, it's not as if it has been a hard shift for them. 

“Do I fear for Steven Naismith? Yes, if their poor run continues for another week or so. They're going to have to start getting results. 

“I'm predicting fifth purely on the size of the club and the expectations because right now they're a million miles away from where they should be, but I do think they will improve.”

Hearts face the unenviable task of facing reigning champions Celtic at Parkhead in their next match and will be desperate to produce a performance close to the one in March when they ran out 2-0 winners courtesy of goals from Lawrence Shankland and Jorge Grant.

Shankland, who was last season’s Golden Boot winner, is yet to register a single goal in six appearances and will be hoping to end that barren run in Glasgow this weekend.