Steven Naismith says that Craig Levein has the support of the whole Hearts dressing room.
His side have been decent over the past three games, beating Hibs away from home in the Edinburgh derby before sealing a League Cup semi-final spot with victory over Aberdeen.
A positive week for Levein. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
It made the weekend’s draw with St Mirren feel like nothing more than a speed bump following a positive week in Gorgie.
Whilst their manager has been under-fire this year, Naismith insists he has never lost the support of his dressing room.
He told BBC Sportsound: “I’ve been in dressing rooms when its not been great and managers have lost their jobs where some boys it suits for the manager to go. Because they get another chance.
Naismith knows what his side must do for Hearts boss Levein. (photo by Alan Rennie/Action Plus via Getty Images)
“There was none of that – the players were all behind the manager. The players know what the manager is trying to do and what he expects from us.
We’ve shown in the Hibs and Aberdeen games the level we need to get to. That’s the minimum now, we play Kilmarnock and then the break, we need to push on now.”
Performances have backed up the fact Levein has the support of his players
Over the past three games, the positive qualities of this Hearts side have shone through. With indivudal talent clearly there, they’ve also displayed one other key trait.
Naismith’s teammates have battled for Levein. (photo by David Young/Action Plus via Getty Images)
They’ve ran themselves into the ground for Levein. Against Aberdeen and Hibs, the Jambos battled back from losing positions to win, seemingly having a bit of confidence that has been desperately lacking this term.
That doesn’t happen if the players don’t support the manager. Levein clearly has the backing of his dressing room.
Individual quality from the likes of Michael Smith, Glenn Whelan and Ryotaro Meshino has helped them too. Their quality in their respective areas are really making Hearts tick right now.
Individual brilliance. (Photo by Ewan Bootman/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A win against Kilmarnock this week, and although everything won’t be fixed, it’ll be undeniable that Hearts have turned some sort of corner.