Steven Naismith on his Hearts 'compromise' as he talks key issue

Naismith talks about the team's compromises after three-match week

It’s back to the drawing board for Hearts as they have just suffered their second successive defeat off the back of a four match winning streak. 

After a hard fought win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, Steven Naismith’s side were then undone by Rangers at Tynecastle with Abdullah Sima sealing the brutal deal. However, it was Saturday’s defeat at the hands of Aberdeen that will be the real heart-break. Having gone 1-0 up thanks to yet another goal from Lawrence Shankland, two second half goals from the Dons saw the three points slip away. 

A point of celebration, however, would have been the return Craig Halkett who came on to the pitch for the first time in nearly a year. 

With the likes of Halkett, McKay and Atkinson now returning to action, Naismith is beginning to have a near full squad available to him and he certainly intends to use the full depth of the team as much as possible. 

When asked whether he enjoyed keeping a settled team, one that sees the same starting XI Naismith told Edinburgh Evening News: “I’m the opposite. Each game is different. To start with for the players it’s tough because someone could play well then not start the next game.

“I wouldn’t have liked that as a player. But the game is changing and I believe that especially in the forward areas, if you give up so much in terms of sharpness, sharp movements being the difference of beating a man or not, going game, game, game - especially three in a week. That tapers off and you end up not beating your man.

“So that sharpness is so important. I learned that as a player and dealt with it.

“You see more change in forward areas. But each game is different. We go about changing our tactics to play Kilmarnock at Kilmarnock. It went against a lot of my ideal way of playing.

“But you have to do it in Scottish football and that impacts who you play and who you have on the bench. I do believe you have to compromise.”

It is this rotation that the ex-Hearts star believes helps him team overcome the fatigue they had previously felt earlier in the season. When combating European games, Cup matches as well as the league battle, the effect was seen in their results but Naismith believes that experience has helped them to deal with the three-match weeks we’ve just encountered. 

When asked how the Jambos cope with the aforementioned ‘fatigue’, Naismith said: “Partly that rotation and we’re fortunate our squad is in a good place and we can make that rotation.

“We’re not compromising in what we’re trying to do and changing the system or the team. That helps. The longer we go the players understand more about that frustration and raging about not playing the next game.

“There’s more understanding that there’s another game in three days and I might be involved in that. It’s a combination of them all that makes a difference.”