Hearts are unrecognisable without talisman Steven Naismith

Hearts' Steven Naismith in action. Picture: Ross Parker/SNS

It has long been suspected Hearts have been over reliant on the striker. Now the evidence seems overwhelming. They simply don’t look the same without him. Of the ten games he has missed during the current campaign because of injury or suspension, Hearts have won only two – 2-1 against Cove Rangers in a Betfred Cup group game and 1-0 against Motherwell in December.

The latest case of Hearts struggling without their talisman was on Wednesday night, when then bottom of the table Dundee enjoyed a fairly convincing victory over a side whose only goal in the 2-1 defeat was a fortuitous one after Olly Lee’s free-kick struck the top of Jesse Curran’s head. The Hearts midfielder was definitely claiming the goal –his sixth of the campaign – but seemed to take little joy from it yesterday.

“I will claim it but it’s a slice of luck,” said Lee. “It was going towards the goal. I’ll add it to the tally but it’s not one that I’m going to write home about.”

Lee was one of those players who seemed slightly lost without Naismith, who was suspended against Dundee. Mercifully for Hearts he is due to return for tomorrow’s home clash against in-form St Johnstone. The Tynecastle side will aim to ensure the Dundee result proves only a hiccup in an otherwise improved run of results. Helping render the events of Wednesday night yet more frustrating is the fact it interrupts a series of three successive wins stretching back to last year. Reasons to be cheerful? As well as Naismith’s return, John Souttar managed more than half an hour against Dundee as he steps up his comeback after three months out.

But it is Naismith’s influence, and the effect on the team when he is absent, that is most striking. On so many occasions after games players have reflected on what the 32-year-old brings to the group. Sean Clare is the latest after he scored his first goal for Hearts against Livingston last weekend. Off the pitch as well as on it he said Naismith helped him settle while also ensuring he did not become too anxious about failing to find the net in his first 13 appearances for the club.

It is tempting to wonder how much different things might have been had Naismith played on Wednesday. Dundee would certainly not have had things as much their own way, that much seems clear. He might also have been able to help David Vanecek navigate what proved a second difficult start for his new team. It was apparent Naismith was doing this on Sunday when Vanecek, while a long way from the finished article, at least lasted the 90 minutes. He was hauled off after little more than half an hour in midweek.

Naismith was as vocal as ever against Livingston with Vanecek often the target of his exhortations. At one point he mis-hit a pass into the striker’s feet and seemed to blame Vanecek for not being able to gather it. He was constantly asking him to raise his game. What was evident on Wednesday was no-one taking on this role. Christophe Berra is skipper but often too far way from the strikers to have much impact when it comes to helping them through a game.

Admittedly, Vanecek is 27 years old. He is not a player making his way in the game. He should be able to bear the burden of playing for Hearts on his shoulders. He should also know whether he is in the right condition. If not, he should have made it his priority to be in sufficiently good shape. Levein branded his fitness “unacceptable” in a scathing assessment of the player’s performance following the defeat by Dundee.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of Levein’s public criticisms, and his comments afterwards did seem unduly severe, it is up to Vanecek to prove he has what it takes. It is unlikely he will be in the squad tomorrow as he bids to reach peak condition before returning to such a harsh testing ground as first-team football at Tynecastle.

Levein might rue including him on Wednesday night when it was already clear he was lacking sharpness. Possibly the manager reckoned he could get away with this against Dundee, whom Hearts brushed aside at Dens Park in October to go six points clear at the top of the league. Who was at the core of that accomplished victory?  Naismith, of course.