Naismith urges nation to get behind Scottish football

Steven Naismith has called on the whole nation to throw their backing behind Scotland’s Euro 2012 qualifying bid rather than “slate” Scottish football.

The reputation of the game north of the border took a battering when Celtic, Rangers and Hearts all crashed out of the Europa League. As the national team prepares to face the Czech Republic and Lithuania in a crucial double-header at Hampden, the midfielder insists now is the time to back Scottish football as a whole.

Naismith said: “To be honest, no matter what state the football is in in Scotland, you need everybody to be pushing in the right direction.

“There are times when criticism is fair and it needs to be said but there are other times when, if we want to make it right, we all need to be pushing in the right way, we need to back everybody that’s involved with Scottish football.

“There is no point slating the country’s football when you are trying to get signings in and things like that.

“If you’re giving the country a bad name, what chance have you got of bringing the better players to the country?”

On the pressure Craig Levein’s men now feel to repair Scottish football’s reputation, Naismith added: “It’s not really been mentioned too much in the squad.

“Scottish football has taken a bit of a kicking over the last week or so but I think if you look at Rangers last year, we competed with Manchester United and Valencia in the games we played against them.

“There are things that need to change all the way through Scottish football but we have known that for more than the last week, to be honest. The players will just keep doing well and hopefully a few good results will start to change peoples’ opinions.”

Naismith has established himself as a key player for both club and country, with Levein recently quoted as saying the player is now one of the first names on his teamsheet. But the Rangers man insists the omission of Celtic’s Kris Commons from the squad has served as a reminder that no-one can take their involvement with Scotland for granted.

He said: “I would be the first to know that with a bad game or a couple of bad games, you’ll be out.

“Kris Commons has been unfortunate to miss out on this one. There is definitely competition there and that’s good, that’s what drives all the players on.”