‌
‌
Skip to main content
Daily Record

Steven Naismith appointed Hearts manager until end of season as Jambos move quickly to replace Robbie Neilson

Former Jambos and Rangers striker takes the reigns along with Frankie McAvoy and is set for a baptism of fire away to Hibs on Saturday.

Comments
Fraser Wilson
18:00, 10 Apr 2023Updated 18:03, 10 Apr 2023
(Image: SNS )

Steven Naismith has accepted his first job in top team management - and the massive challenge of rescuing third place for Hearts.

The Jambos have moved swiftly to appoint their B team manager to the top job in an interim basis until the end of the season after sacking Robbie Neilson on Sunday. Naismith, who is also a member of Steve Clarke’s Scotland coaching staff, will be assisted by Academy director and former Preston North End manager Frankie McAvoy and current coach Gordon Forrest.

‌

And they face a baptism of fire in their first match in charge against Hibs at Easter Road in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off. Naismith faces a massive task to turn around a horror slump in form that’s seen them relinquish third spot to Aberdeen who were 10 points behind the Jambos just two months ago.

‌
READ MORE: Celtic outgun Rangers aftermath LIVE as Kyogo makes his case to be crowned best Parkhead striker since LarssonREAD MORE: Barry Ferguson slams 'disgraceful' Kevin Clancy abuse as Rangers hero puts Celtic clash fury into perspective

The Tynecastle hierarchy swung the axe after a 2-0 defeat to St Mirren at Tynecastle made it five defeats from their last six league games. Now they’ve turned to the 36-year-old former Hearts and Rangers striker with seven games remaining to grab back third spot and the almost guaranteed £5m Euro ticket that comes with it.

Crunch talks involving chair Ann Budge, chief executive Andrew McKinlay and sporting director Joe Savage were held on Monday just 24 hours after the decision to pull the trigger on Neilson. Earlier in the day they also confirmed the departure of assistant manager Lee McCulloch.

Article continues below

A statement said: “Heart of Midlothian can confirm that co-assistant manager Lee McCulloch has today left the club.

“Lee joined Hearts in August 2020 as part of Robbie Neilson’s backroom staff and played a huge role in the club’s journey back to the top flight, to two Scottish Cup Finals and into the group stages of the Europa Conference League. The club would like to thank Lee for all of his hard work and we wish him well in the future.”

READ NEXT

Article continues below
READ MORE: Kevin Clancy threats after Celtic vs Rangers taken to Police Scotland as SFA slam 'potentially criminal' abuseREAD MORE: Michael Stewart thinks Hearts hit the 'panic button' due to fan pressure as he blasts board for Robbie Neilson sackingREAD MORE: Jeremie Frimpong transfer decision 'made' as Celtic braced for major windfall if Leverkusen star gets his wishREAD MORE: Andy Robertson elbow linesman suspended indefinitely as PGMOL take action after Liverpool incidentREAD MORE: Simon Jordan reveals Celtic tip off on Ange as pundit echoes punters over true worth to EPL teams
Follow Daily Record:
‌
Hearts FCSteven NaismithLee McCullochRobbie NeilsonHibernian FCRangers FCScottish Cup
‌
reach logo

At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.