Steven Naismith's Hearts transfer cherry picking is 'smart' as Davie Martindale points out dual benefit

Steven Naismith anniversary as Hearts boss passed unnoticed on Thursday, perhaps because many people didn’t think he would stay in the job long enough to celebrate it.

His Tynecastle tenure started ominously 12 months ago with a derby defeat and Naismith went on to win just five of his first 16 matches, with fan forums fuming over his appointment. Fortunately for the 37-year-old, the Hearts board kept the faith and he has justified their patience.

Trigger-happy Aberdeen are looking for a sixth manager in three years while Hibs have had four bosses since December 2021. Naismith has proved the benefits of stability by winning 14 and losing only two of Hearts’ last 19 games. That run has seen them nail a third-place finish and book a Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers at Hampden next weekend. Livingston visit Gorgie on Saturday and Lions boss David Martindale reckons Jambos chief Ann Budge and her board are reaping the rewards for backing their man.

He said: “Naisy has done a great job. He had a sticky start until he got his philosophy across but credit to Hearts for sticking with him.

“They’re a fantastically-run club. Ann has done well and now she’s being helped out by Andrew McKinlay, Joe Savage and Naisy.

“When you have the alignment of being well run on and off the park it’s ideal. In order to have success you need the synergy between the people upstairs and the management team.

“Hearts fans have put a phenomenal amount of money into their club and [multi-millionaire director] James Anderson has helped out financially as well. It has allowed Steven to flourish. Going into a stable club with genuine potential has given him that foundation.”

Martindale also praised the Jambos for their policy of cherry-picking signings from their Premiership rivals. He said: “They’ve been progressive, not just by signing James Penrice from us but in snapping up Yan Dhanda from Ross County and Blair Spittal from Motherwell on pre-contracts.

“That’s smart. For example, if I sign a player from Nigeria there is a lot of adaptation for him to make – new country and a style and tempo to football in Scotland you don’t see elsewhere. I’ll recruit from anywhere – [English] League Two, National League, Nigeria – but whoever comes in from outside will need a settling-in period.

“Whereas the chance of success with Yan Dhanda is a lot higher than someone from the second tier in Belgium or Switzerland because he has already shown he can do it here. So why wouldn’t you sign someone who has proved himself in Scotland? Players who already know the demands of this league improve your chances of enhancing your squad.

“Craig Halkett, Alan Forrest and Nicky Devlin – arguably one of Aberdeen’s best players this season – are other examples of Livingston players who have gone on to do well so that approach is a no-brainer for me. Hearts’ recruitment has been really excellent and Naisy and Joe Rice have to take huge credit for that.

“If I was sitting at a bigger club with more resources then I’d try and sign Spittal and Dhanda. That also gives you more leeway when it comes to taking a gamble on a Kyosuke Tagawa or an Yutaro Oda but Hearts as a club have probably learned from European football.

“It was a difficult period for them under both Robbie Neilson and Steven and it’s easy to underestimate the demands of that situation. You’d maybe be able to play Tagawa in Europe but you fall back on your British core away to Livingston or St Johnstone.”