Steven Naismith spells out his stance on the Zander Clark v Craig Gordon debate at Hearts

Goalkeeping competition is intense in Gorgie but the head coach is relaxed

Anyone anticipating Craig Gordon's return to competitive action at Hearts must wait for now. Head coach Steven Naismith is not about to cast Zander Clark aside after a year deputising for the legendary Scotland internationalist. The admirable loyalty stems from a sense of relaxation that Clark represents safe hands.

The former St Johnstone keeper made several impressive saves against Rangers in midweek after pulling off many previous stops to help secure useful results this season. The occasional aberration is not glossed over, but Naismith feels those are outweighed by his shot-stopping ability.

Gordon is fit again after breaking his leg in two places last December. He is eager to regain status as Hearts' undisputed No.1 and push for an international recall ahead of next summer's European Championship in Germany as he approaches his 41st birthday. However, he must exercise a degree of patience.

Back in the squad in midweek, he watched the defeat by Rangers from the substitutes' bench and will likely be there again at Aberdeen on Saturday. The 39-year-old Northern Ireland internationalist Michael McGovern remains third-choice keeper.

Naismith told the Edinburgh News that he feels the level of external commentary on the Clark v Gordon debate is reaching unwarranted levels. The situation inside Riccarton is calm and unlikely to change.

"I don't have a decision just now," he said. "I'm comfortable with where we sit at the moment and I'm comfortable with where Craig is at. I think Zander has been good, he showed that with some of his saves against Rangers. The one from [Abdallah] Sima is an unbelievable save, even though Sima is offside. He kept us in the game.

"This is being made into something it shouldn't be externally because Zander has been brilliant for us. He has had to be a mainstay for the last year and deal with that. Now he's got to deal with the noise from outside. He understands how I feel. It's not that big an issue for me."

Naismith added that he has not approached Clark about the heightening discussion outwith the Edinburgh club. "I haven't spoken to him about the noise from outside. With things like that, I don't touch on it at all with the players. He is comfortable and knows what I want from week to week. The way we work hasn't changed and it won't change.

"We are fortunate here that we have three international goalies of good quality. At the moment, Zander is the one playing every week and I don't see a reason why that should change."

The 1-0 loss to Rangers ended Hearts' four-match winning streak in the Premiership. They need an appropriate response in the north east. "Yeah, it is about that," admitted Naismith. "Earlier in the season we had a few results which we didn't get. The block of four losses in a row, including the two European defeats, that was the first time when it was like: 'Right, how are we reacting here boys?' We came through it, got a few results and then there was a bit of inconsistency.

"We watched Wednesday night's game back and had a meeting about it on Thursday. There was some really good stuff for us and things that we value highly. The final third bit could have been better and, for the Rangers goal, we were sloppy. In terms of direct play, Rangers played more direct balls than we did in the game. We played more forward passes than them.

"A lot of the percentages are similar. We open up in the second half and they had better chances than us. We had some good chances, too. We need to take that forward. We are still the same team, we still play the same way, but can we take more chances and create better opportunities."

Kyosuke Tagawa, the Japanese forward, played from the start in midweek for the first time since September. His industrious approach and turn of pace offers a different dynamic in attack. "He definitely does that. Of all our players who run in behind, he is the most natural forward at doing it," said Naismith.

"Kyosuke's natural instinct is to be in the right place when the ball drops. He gets it on his chest and he isn't fighting or reacting to get it. He has good qualities. It's just about getting him the game time and letting him develop. His performances in the last two games against Kilmarnock and Rangers have been good for him. It's about building that momentum."

Building momentum is something Aberdeen are desperate to do after slipping to 11th in the Premiership table. Wednesday's 1-0 home defeat by Kilmarnock, courtesy of 18-year-old David Watson's 90th-minute winner, merely increased the pressure at Pittodrie.

Naismith and Hearts will not be lulled into any false sense of security ahead of the weekend. "Aberdeen's form and results recently can mask the quality they have," said the head coach. "Games against us are normally high-energy and end-to-end. That's what I imagine Saturday will be again.

"Despite their situation with results, form and dealing with Europe, that's none of our business. We need to focus on us. We will highlight in our prep where we think we can win the game as we do every week."