Steven Pressley insists the silence around Hearts outlines the excellence of Steven Naismith’s work.
But the Tynecastle club’s Scottish Cup-winning captain reckons making big noise at Hampden will lift the boss to the next level. Pressley is adamant genuine belief holds the key to Hearts success against Rangers on Sunday. In Naismith, the ex-skipper sees an individual who can provide it.
The Hearts manager has won admiration for his ability to come through a sticky period earlier in the campaign. But, for Pressley, it’s the lack of noise around the place that is just as significant. Having been through life with Vladimir Romanov, he knows what chaos looks like around Tynecastle. But Naismith has serenity in Gorgie and Pressley said: “There isn’t a lot of noise coming from the club right now and that’s a healthy sign.
“There was a lot of noise when I was there! Earlier in the season, there was. But not anymore. It feels calm and it tells me Hearts are in a good place.
“Hearts are in good form, better than Rangers are right now after the first period of uncertainty in [Philippe] Clement’s reign. The pressure is mounting on that side of the city, but there is a real calmness about Hearts.
“Steven is doing a good job. He’s shown good resilience from his early period of difficulty. I read that he had spoken about good stability and good support from within the club.
“I know from my own time as a manager in my first job, I was very fortunate to have Alex Smith behind me. People underestimate how important support is to a young manager and he seems to be getting that just now and that allows him to prosper and do his job properly.
“He seems to have got his group together, but, equally, around that, I think you need to give Hearts credit as well. There is stability in general around the club.
“I’m at a club [Brentford] just now where there is great continuity, great stability and I think it is so important in football to have that to allow you to grow, So I think we are seeing that. We are seeing the emergence of Steven, a good young manager, at a club with good stability.”
Pressley offers examples of Naismith’s ability to keep things running smoothly as he encounters tricky situations. Speculation over Lawrence Shankland in the January transfer window could have derailed his talisman, but, with his own good attitude allied by the manager’s support, the skipper keeps producing.
Asked if he was surprised that Shankland didn’t move in the last window, Pressley said: “Yes, I was. Hearts biggest challenge now is to keep him. Every successful team generally has a 20-goal-a-season striker. If they can keep Shankland and add a sprinkling of players, then I think they can keep improving and moving forward.”
Winning a Scottish Cup could help him stay longer and Pressley continued: “Of course, I agree, but it is all down to money. It is whether or not Hearts can actually appease that situation, which they may well be able to do. I think keeping him is massive.”
When Craig Gordon returned from long-term injury, Naismith could have faced issues with Zander Clark in fine form as No.1. However, once again, Naismith has managed the situation expertly and Pressley added: “I am pretty certain that he will have had a conversation with Zander on that and certain that he’ll understand that. Part of management, of course, you have to win games, but you have got to keep harmony without your group and he is doing that to good effect.”
Naismith’s management has given Hearts a strong foundation, but defeating Rangers at the National Stadium for the first time will take it up a notch. Pressley says it’s about building and explained: “I always felt in my time at Hearts that the growth of the team was really important.
“I remember going to play the Old Firm in the early years under Craig Levein hoping we would get a result. But, after a few years of playing together, we went there believing we would get a result.
“The psychological aspects of football are so important. That genuine belief you are not turning up in hope, but actually believing you can win.
“Steven can install that. You have to build and get results that create that kind of belief. Rangers are there to be gotten at, but it’s the belief in doing that. I do think in the dressing room they have grown.
“I said earlier in the season they had too big a reliance on Shankland, but in recent weeks there has been a bigger spread of goals. He only scored one of the four against Livingston and, if you look at the metrics, third is where they should be.
“The stats also tell you they are improving and growing as a team, so there is a lot to be happy about at Hearts. Winning big games installs that belief and that confidence. They’ve beaten Celtic, so it’s not alien to them.
“To have a 50/50 split will also be an enormous boost for the players. Often when you play the Old Firm here [Hampden], it feels like an away game. I think that will be a great thing also.”
Steven Pressley was promoting Premier Sport’s live and exclusive coverage of Rangers v Hearts on Sunday. Premier Sports is available to stream from premiersports.com or via your TV provider on Sky, Virgin TV and Amazon Prime as an add-on subscription.
