Steven Naismith on the key ingredient that Hearts must repeat at St Mirren

Steven Naismith reveals the key behind Hearts’ success over Aberdeen ahead of St Mirren

Hearts will be facing a fierce test this weekend as they travel to St Mirren for their sixth matchday in the Scottish Premiership. Steven Naismith’s side secured a vital three points at Tynecastle last weekend with Yutaro Oda and Liam Boyce finding the back of the net against Aberdeen.

However, the Jambos manager has spoken of consistency and his belief that this recent win will not be a one off event. Hearts will play a side who currently sit in second place in the league and will be playing them in their own stadium. On paper it would appear as if the Jambos should come away with the win, but the Paisley side have not yet lost a game this season and will hope this remains the case on Saturday.

Speaking to the press after the win against Aberdeen, the Tynecastle boss said of his side: “I thought we showed real composure for the first minute.

“We understood that at the start of any game it’s going to be a bit of a battle and a fight but we picked the right moments to take touch and play a pass that’s giving us control and our use of the ball today was really good.”

Previous to Hearts’ win over Aberdeen, the Jambos side suffered a 1-0 loss to both Dundee and Motherwell in the domestic league as well as an aggregate 6-1 defeat to PAOK in the Europa Conference League. However, the international break came at a time that was crucial for resetting and regrouping ahead of what will be a tough next block of fixtures.

The former Hearts player said of his team: “(The composure) was lacking against Dundee and Motherwell but we had it today. And (Aberdeen) could easily have been a really nervous game and nervous start, and people not picking the riskier passes or pressing at the right time.”

Naismith has been under no illusions as to what his side needed to do but it is now a question as to whether the squad can keep it up as they prepare for fixtures against St Mirren, Ross County, Hibs and Celtic as well as a Scottish League Cup quarter-final against Kilmarnock.

“Bravery and confidence with the ball is the most important thing for us I think. Each game has small details that are different. The game against St Mirren’s will be really different to (Aberdeen) but we need to trust that we’re good players because when we do that, we’re causing problems and controlling the game.”