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JUST over a month ago on August 9, Hearts seemed to be in rude health when it was announced that Steven Naismith had signed a new contract as manager until the summer of 2026.
They had just claimed a decent point against Rangers at Tynecastle in the opening game of the season. There was an air of positivity about what might be possible in the new campaign.
After romping to third place in the Premiership last season, the club backed Naismith over the summer with a raft of new signings to bolster a squad that was already in good shape.
The likes of Yan Dhanda and Blair Spittal, two players with plenty of craft and guile in forward areas, were acquired from Ross County and Motherwell respectively.
Midfielder Malachi Boateng joined from Crystal Palace for an undisclosed fee after impressive loan spells at Queen’s Park and Dundee over the previous two seasons.
Hearts also paid money to sign defender Daniel Oyegoke from Bradford, as well as securing the services of Musa Drammeh, a young Spanish striker from Sevilla.
The pressure is already building on Hearts manager Steven Naismith
Supporters haven’t been shy in airing their frustrations in light of their team’s performances
Last year’s top scorer Lawrence Shankland has yet to find the target this season
And yet, as the team return to action following the international break, pressure is mounting on Naismith. Incredibly, Hearts haven’t won a game since he signed his new deal. Indeed, they haven’t won a game all season.
A run of six straight defeats in all competitions included their elimination from the Premier Sports Cup by Championship side Falkirk.
They were knocked out of the Europa League qualifiers against a very limited Viktoria Plzen side in a tie that was eminently winnable.
Hearts also sit second bottom in the Premiership, with a 1-0 home loss to Dundee United at the start of the month seeing the team booed off the pitch at full-time.
As Naismith and his players seek shelter from the storm, a trip to Celtic Park this afternoon probably wouldn’t be the most desirable fixture as they look to stop the rot.
Hearts also face another tricky away game against St Mirren in Paisley next weekend, with a trip to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen just a couple of weeks later.
It has been a dreadful start to the new season and, if the Gorgie outfit don’t buck up their ideas, things could nosedive even further over the next month or so.
The main problem is that Naismith is struggling to find balance in the team. Trying to fit all the right pieces into the jigsaw is a puzzle he is yet to solve.
Dhanda and Spittal were two of the most creative players in the Premiership last season and the expectation was for them to provide the ammunition for Lawrence Shankland.
Summer signings Blair Spittal and Yan Dhanda have struggled to find their feet
Stephen Kingsley reflects on Hearts’ Premier Sports Cup exit at the hands of Falkirk
However, Shankland looks out of sorts. Last season’s PFA Player of the Year in Scotland, who netted 33 goals, has yet to score across six games in the new campaign.
His dip in form has been emblematic of Hearts as a whole over these first few weeks of the new season — and it’s up to Naismith to stop that slump.
Speaking earlier this week, the Hearts manager acknowledged that the new signings may need time to adjust and settle in.
‘If you are at Hearts and not winning games, there is an expectation there,’ he said. ‘The same kind of things that were an issue at the start of last season.
‘I think what’s lost in this… a lot of people have spoken of our good recruitment over the summer, but every player we’ve signed has come from a lower-level team or lower-expectation team coming into Hearts. That doesn’t just mean it is all going to click.
‘I was very conscious last season, new players coming in are going to need time. In this day and age, you don’t get that.
‘There is not any sentiment or understanding of the change that happened over the summer.
People look at us, we got third, we got Europe, so we need to get better than that. But where my mind goes to is, name a club
outside the Old Firm that has gone on that path and has had that straightforward progression, progression, progression?
‘It doesn’t happen because the margins are so fine. Every team in the league is so well organised now. It’s harder to beat them and then that demand of playing in Europe and consistently going game after game, it’s tough.
‘Some of our newer forward players have maybe not understood the pressure that comes with playing for Hearts.
Kyogo Furuhashi and Paulo Bernardo will hope to pile on the misery for Hearts this weekend
‘When the game is tight and maybe not a lot of chances, take the wrong option and you can sense the frustration from the crowd, it’s then how you deal with that. Our newer players are going to take time to deal with that.’
Asked how he has sought to rectify things over the past week or so during the international break, Naismith added: ‘With most international breaks we try to be as productive as we can. We normally try to arrange a game, which we managed to do.
‘We then touched on the areas that are most in need of improvement short term. The days have been very useful. You lose the international (players) which isn’t ideal but, for everybody else, particularly the new signings, the break has been good for them.’
Hearts remain committed to the project under Naismith and are confident that he can turn things around. Still in the early stages of the new season, they believe they can yet have a positive campaign.
After dropping into the Europa Conference League, the club have games against the likes of Cercle Brugge, FC Copenhagen and Dinamo Minsk to look forward to.
But Europe can wait. First and foremost, Hearts need to rectify matters on the domestic front or else their season could spiral out of control very quickly.
Naismith doesn’t need to be told about the demands from supporters, nor about the way Hearts fans have turned on managers in the past.
Finding the right balance in this team and the right formula in forward areas will be key to turning things around.
Hearts haven’t won a game this season and their star striker hasn’t scored a goal. That’s the long and short of it.
With a trip to face an in-form Celtic team at Parkhead this afternoon, things aren’t about to get any easier.
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