'Naismith's considerable strengths outweigh his lack of experience'

Hearts fan Greg Playfair, @OorWeeChat podcast, external

After a 60-day search for a new manager to replace Robbie Neilson, the wait is finally over and Steven Naismith is in permanent charge, albeit with a rather unique job title of technical director.

There’s no doubt he will be calling the shots and as our unofficial 39th permanent manager – although that figure can be debated given the Lithuanian hotseat roulette in the Romanov era – it’s an appointment I can get behind.

I’ve found it intriguing the number of my fellow Jambos that seem underwhelmed and see it as lazy appointment. Questions have been asked in Hearts podcasts as well as online whether the board even carried out an interview and application process.

I have no doubt that Andrew McKinlay, Joe Savage and the others involved in finding Neilson’s successor will have gone through a thorough process but ultimately have decided on Naismith for a number of reasons.

For starters, Naismith has improved individuals through his coaching. Yutaro Oda, Natty Atkinson and James Hill looked like different players from their last outings under Neilson where they were devoid of all footballing abilities.

Most impressively, Naismith changed our style of play to more attacking, more aggressive and braver with the ball. In his seven games we averaged just over 14 shots at goal per match, including two home outings where we had 30 shots each versus Ross County and Aberdeen. In three of these games we played with 10 men so the averages would have likely been higher.

Another crucial aspect is Naismith ‘knows Hearts’ given his five years of service as a player and laterally as a coach. He appreciates that the support can be very demanding and that mediocrity is not tolerated.

Lastly, Jambos love to see youth academy products in the team and since the 2014-2015 Championship-winning season, our squads have largely been devoid of homegrown talent.

Having been the B Team manager, Naismith should have a good handle on what prospects we have coming through. You would also hope he will be brave enough to blood youngsters given he was given a chance aged 17 at Kilmarnock.

While he might not have years of experience like other rumoured candidates such as Marti Cifuentes and Chris Wilder, they perhaps lack in areas where Naisy has considerable strengths. I feel that’s what has swung it for the Hearts board.

Any managerial appointment will have its risks associated and there’s nobody who would be a cast-iron success. There’s plenty of work for Naismith and the team around him to get stuck into before the new season - including the number one priority of becoming more defensively sound – but he’ll get the backing to be a success.

After all, every technical director in our history has been well supported by the fans!