Hearts cautious over Steven Naismith until striker gets up to speed

Steven Naismith is keen to feature against Aberdeen after signing a four-year deal with Hearts. Picture: Bruce White/SNS

The Scotland international has declared himself willing and able to feature when Hearts kick off their Premiership campaign against Aberdeen at Pittodrie tomorrow but his boss says he will adopt a canny approach as he tries to protect his star man.

“He played 65 minutes of a game on Tuesday. But my dilemma is now whether he starts or not. It is a good problem to have,” admits Levein.

“It is what is best for him at this stage. For the next month or so I don’t think we will see him Saturday-Saturday-Saturday-Saturday. Normally what would happen is that he would play 45, 60, 75 minutes and then back in for 90 minutes but he is confident that he is in reasonable enough shape to contribute. Once he is back up to full speed he will play every week if he is fit.”

That is a no brainer if the 32-year-old forward proves capable of recapturing the form he showed last term, scoring seven goals in eight games as the Gorgie side surged out of the blocks to set the pace in the league until November.

But injuries limited his involvement after that and the side’s form collapse in his absence was telling, which is why the Hearts boss is thrilled to have convinced Naismith to sign a four-year deal that will enable him to see out his playing career at the club.

“He’s done a lot in a short space of time to convince everybody that he’s going to be a huge asset for us,” said his boss. “Our record with him and without him is stark. Is it a coincidence? I don’t want to find out!

“The only people that have a bad word to say about him are opposition fans on match day. You ask any footballer or manager and they might be annoyed with Naisy for that 90 minutes but he is such a good person and he is hugely well respected. For him to commit to Hearts for that length of time is a huge plus.

“It is a big commitment and I look at the success we have had with the likes of Macca [Steven MacLean], Don Cowie, Christophe [Berra] and Aaron Hughes and I look at Naisy and, at 32, he is still a pup!

“He has modified his training to keep churning out performances on match days. He is such a diligent boy in everything that he does and I know that if I tell him he can train at his gym at home, he will do more than I ask him to.

“So signing him for four years is all about what Steven brings on and off the field. Alongside the boys that I mentioned, they set the culture of the club. We have very few issues. Every now and then there is a spanner in the works but generally nobody is too big for their boots. They all think more about the team than themselves and that culture is set by Naisy, Macca and the rest.

“It is good to have a dressing room where everybody is pulling together. You cannot get enough of those players in the dressing room.”

Although Naismith’s lengthy lay-off was a blow, it has served a purpose and Levein says he is getting a player who is hungrier than ever.

“He also missed quite a chunk of his earlier career with knee problems and he’s had a couple of cruciates,” said Levein.“Having been there myself, you always want to get that back. You feel like you’ve lost something and you want to tag it all on to the tail end of your career.

“As long as you’re enjoying yourself while you’re playing football, it’s a brilliant life and he comes in every day with a smile on his face... although that usually turns into a grimace when he starts bawling at people in training! The game on Monday he reffed brilliantly. It was one of the best  refereeing performances of his career!”