Steven Naismith reacts to Nick Montgomery Hibs sacking as Hearts boss opens up on reality of management
The Hearts boss offered sympathy over a dismissal he claims is typical of ‘crazy’ expectations in football.
Steven Naismith raised an eyebrow but there was no shock at hearing Edinburgh rival Nick Montgomery had been sacked by Hibs.
The Hearts boss offered sympathy over a dismissal he claims is typical of ‘crazy’ expectations and insists a template for managerial survival has been written at Tynecastle which trigger-happy boards should follow. Grumbles of discontent around Gorgie last December had Naismith under the cosh from sections of his own support which included a heated AGM where his future was discussed and a shareholder claimed the football was ‘embarrassing’ and ‘horrific’.
But after being backed by Hearts powerbrokers, the 37-year-old has secured a third spot Premiership finish with their highest points tally since 2006 and two cup semi-finals. After Montgomery cleared his desk at Easter Road, the Jambos gaffer admits watching Davie Moyes being replaced as West Ham boss was another jaw dropper.
He said: “When a manager comes in a third of the way through a season and loses his job by the end of it, could you say Nick had a fair shot at it? I’m not sure he has. Am I surprised? I probably am. He didn’t even get the full season. Where the club was when he took over, you could tell it wasn’t going to happen overnight. Earlier in the season, people suggested I was under pressure. It’s the nature of the industry now. I don’t think it’s right.
“We are showing what can happen if you have everybody on the same page. You have everybody inside the club understanding – even when it’s not going well – why decisions were made and where you think you can get to. We had that and it has worked out really well for us. It’s the norm now. That’s how it feels. No matter the amount of work you do, at no point can you really feel you’ve got that safety.
“David Moyes is an example. After what he’s done over the last three or four years at West Ham, for them just to shake his hand seems crazy to me. It’s the industry, it’s social media, everybody needing success right now. For some clubs and a lot of fans, that’s it. It’s this craving for instant success.
“When you see a team getting instant success right away it’s just categorised as: ‘That’s us, it’s normal, that’s what we should do.’ Over time, hopefully we get back to a bit of normality and understanding that managers can get an initial reaction but if you want real success it needs to be deeper.”
Naismith’s side are in Paisley tonight to face St Mirren in their penultimate match of a hugely impressive campaign that’s consigned the criticism of five months ago to ancient history and the former Scotland striker spelled out his own demands over the internal workings at Tynecastle and being honest and transparent.
He said: “The board were brilliant. One thing I’ve been clear since taking over here is that the people who matter in the club, I need to have contact with on a regular basis, whether that’s the fans, players, staff or the board.
“I’m not having Chinese Whispers. I’ll say what I think, I’ll tell you why I have made this decision. Whether it’s a fan asking a question or a board member, I’ll give you my reasons. I’ve thought through why I made the decisions. I was calm in that situation because I knew there was a lot of good stuff happening on the training pitch. In the games, it wasn’t free-flowing but we didn’t get a doing in many games.
“It was an individual mistake or one moment we didn’t do something right. That gave me a lot of hope. I was quite calm. I’ll be a football manager until the day I’m sacked or moved on or had enough.”