MEETING HELD ON 12TH SEPTEMBER 2024 IN THE GORGIE SUITE
SPEAKERS: STEVEN NAISMITH, FRANKIE MCAVOY, GORDON FORREST AND PAUL GALLAGHER
HERE IS THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION. THERE WAS 200 MEMBERS AND GUESTS PRESENT.
A HUGE THANK YOU TO MEMBER TOMMY FALLON WHO TOOK THE MINUTES AND NOTES AT THE MEETING.
Q1 – It’s been a disappointing start to the season after the great progress we made last year, what do you think has caused this?
SN – We’ve signed 9 new players and I would say that it’s a step up for all 9 of them moving to Hearts, there’s bigger demands and bigger expectations from the fans and it’s been tough for a lot of them.
At the Dundee game, I made some mistakes as well and got a few things wrong. I think it’s the small details and we’re being punished for a lot of our mistakes.
At the Falkirk game we should be 2 or 3 goals up, but we don’t take our chances and then the longer the game goes on the more balanced it gets and we end up on the wrong side of it.
9 out of the 11 goals we have conceded have come from individual mistakes and the majority have been made by the new signings but they don’t become bad players overnight and it takes time for them to gel and bond but they will come good. Last season Calum & Kenny were in the same boat and before his injury Calum was one of our best players but early on, he was being written off.
Q2 – Is the international break a good thing at this time?
SN – If things are going well then the break isn’t great but I think it is when things aren’t going well it’s good to get the break to get on the training ground and work with the players. Mistakes are costing us goals but we need to take risks going forward and try to go for it and create more opportunities. At Tynecastle we’ve made a few errors which have really cost us, but they’re made worse because we’ve not been great at the top end of the pitch. This Saturday we’ll have less possession than previous games but we’ve worked on that and trained for it during the break.
Q3 – Do you work with the players to build up their confidence?
SN – It’s a step by step process to build confidence. If you’re having a bad game, you can still give 100%, you can fly into a tackle to get you going. I was the type of player that if I was having a bad game, poor touch etc, I’d always work hard, fly into some tackles to get me going and get the crowd going. That’s the bare minimum you should be doing and I try to pass my experience on.
Q4 – When we signed Spittal, Dhanda etc, it was looked on as being exciting but they’re really struggling, why?
SN – For all these players, it’s a big step up. Hearts are the biggest club they’ve played for. At Ross County, you make a mistake, nothing happens, at Hearts there’s a big crowd at every game, home and away and every mistake is highlighted.
Against Dundee United, they played a low block and looked to hit us on the break, Dhanda won’t have faced that at Ross County as teams will open up against them as they’ll be out to win, so it’ll take time to get used to it. Over time, they’ll gel with their team mates and will improve. It’ll take time to get their but ultimately it’s a results based business and I know that it’s on me to get results.
Gerald against Spurs & Rangers, people were like wow, he’s fantastic, then against Dundee Utd he’s a dud. He’s just moved here and is settling in. They’re young players and will be inconsistent but they will improve, the Old Firm pay £30k - £40k a week and that gets them consistency, we can’t do that so we need to speculate and improve players. I’d like to thing that we’ve made all the players better since we took over, we’ve invested in them.
Q5 – How do you keep two top keepers happy?
PG – Both want to play, they’re both top internationalists and we’ve also brought in Ryan Fulton.
For Craig to come back from that horrendous injury is amazing but it took longer to come back and when he did Zander was playing really well and kept him out. Craig got a great pre-season behind him and when Zander picked up an injury Craig took his chance as it opened the door for him. It’s a great battle between them as they both want to play every game but the training is outstanding and they push each other.
Q6 – How hard is it to go from playing Brugge to Ross Co?
SN – That’s a Piece of cake, it’s going from Azerbaijan to Aberdeen that’s tough. It’s really hard for the players, unless you’re an internationalist and used to travelling away in Europe for games, it’s hard to adapt. You’ve got a game every 3rd day and if you’re even 5% off it, then you get punished. It’s a real challenge and will be tougher than last year but I’m really confident we’ll do well in Europe. There’s a real euphoria when you do well in Europe and it can be tough to lift yourself on the Sunday but we need to ensure that we’re on it for every game.
Q7 – We’ve got a bigger squad now, how hard is it keeping everyone happy?
SN – It’s not easy to be honest as players all want to play. If you’re not playing one game, you’re desperate to play then next but you also need a run of games to improve and fit it. It’s challenging but that’s part of football. For the young players, you want to bring them on and develop them but it’s not easy coming into the team when we’re struggling.
Q8 – You’ve kept a lot of young players at Hearts Tait, Denholm, Pollock etc but they’ve not featured much, would they be better out on loan?
SN – We kept them all here as we felt they’d develop better training with the first team and learning from the experienced players. As for not playing much, we didn’t have a great pre-season results wise and it was a chance for some of them to really stake a claim and I don’t think any of them took that opportunity.
Q9 – What’s the latest on the injury front?
SN – Calum was going great after needing an operation for the Hamstring injury, he had a set back in pre-season and is still a bit away from getting back. Beni is back and will be involved from this weekend.
Q10 – Question about Boateng? (Couldn’t hear exactly what the question was)
GF – He’s been a great signing and has added a lot to the midfield, we’ve really missed Calum & Beni in there.
SN – You forget how young Malachi is and he’s only just arrived here. It’ll take time to settle in.
Q11 – We signed two young overseas Right Backs and then proceed to play Stephen Kingsley out of position at right back, what the thinking there?
SN – Daniel found it tough in his first game and Gerald felt a niggle and we didn’t want to risk him. Kingsley did well in the Rangers game on the right at the end of last season and we decided his experience would be better for one game.
Q12 – You already know Graeme Jones, what can you tell us about him?
SN – I think he’s a great appointment, I had a good relationship with him at Scotland and I hope that’ll continue with Hearts.
He’s very different from Joe who was more about recruitment and getting players in. The club has grown massively in the past few years, we now have the youth teams, the girls & ladies teams and we need someone who can deal with the whole infrastructure that’s involved. Grame is involved in all of it and did really well at international level. He’s also happy behind the camera.
Q13 – Is the Oriam big enough?
SN – The current contract is running down and we are limited at the Oriam. I’ve been there as a player and as a coach and whilst the facilities are good, we do need to improve the infrastructure. Money has been spent on the pitches and the buildings etc but we need facilities that can cope with the growth in the girls / boys / woman’s and men’s teams and we are limited with what we can do at the Oriam.
Q14 – We were all excited about the new season and there was a lot of talk about quality over quantity, yet we ended up with nine new players that are all stepping up to Hearts.
SN – I think we have signed some quality players but it’s true that they are all stepping up. We’ve signed the best players we can afford, we can’t compete with wages against the old firm so we need to be smarter. We’ve been really poor at selling players on since I joined Hearts. We’ve signed a lot of players with little or no sell on value and we need to change that. We’re looking to get younger hungry players in that we can mould and improve and sell on and get long term success.
Q15 – We’ve only really got one striker, yet we didn’t sign another one during the transfer window. Were we looking to get one?
SN – It’s an area we were looking at, but we’ve got faith in James Wilson and it gives other players a chance. We’ve lacked a bit of quality in the final third this season so far. Shanks has been quality, but I think all the players haven’t been at the level they were last season . We need all players to pitch in with goals, from the midfield and the wingers etc.
Q16 – I’ve been a manager for over 30 years and I’ve never ever threw my players under a bus like you have with your players tonight. You’re the one who coaches them and then you blame them and call them out talk absolutely no responsibility yourself for it.
SN – Did you listen to the Dundee interview? I already said that I’ve made mistakes. You’ve been a manager for over 30 years, can I ask at what level?
I’ve played at the top level for 20 years and I’ve been a manager for a year, I’ve made mistakes and I’ve admitted that.
You’ll say a player is great after one game and then destroy the same player after one mistake, I think that’s disrespectful.
We can’t just compliment players and praise them, when they make mistakes, we need to address these so we can help them improve. We’re doing the same as last year but the results haven’t been anywhere near as good. Did you praise us last year?
Ultimately the buck stops with me and if we don’t get the results I’ll get sacked but I can assure you nobody works harder than us to put things right.
Q17 – Were you embarrassed by the Dundee United manager basically telling the whole league the blue print on how to beat us? If we’d sat in and played like Dundee United we could have got a 0-0 draw instead of getting beat.
SN – A 0-0 draw, do you think that’s acceptable at home to Dundee United? I don’t think it’s acceptable and I think most would agree. It’s not been good enough in the final third but it’ll come, we need to get used to teams coming to Tynie and sitting in for a draw and trying to hit us on the break. We need to break them down and as the players gel, the results will improve, we started slowly last season as well.
Ultimately if we sat in each week and got draw after draw, I don’t think that would be acceptable.
Q18 – Is Angus Gunn better than Zander or Craig?
PG – Not in my opinion, if Craig was in the Scotland Squad, I think he’d be pushing Gunn to be a better keeper. Craig’s had a brilliant come back and has been amazing and should be in the squad but it’s up to Steve Clark.
“Craig will be after your job soon 😊” PG – That’s why I’m pushing him down the media route 😊
If it was up to me, I’d have Zander, Craig and Gunn all in the squad vying for the number one spot but Steve Clark likes to have a clear 1,2,3 and it’s his call.
Q19 – Harry Stone now has a beard 😊
PG – Yeah, he’s really grown up in the last year and puberty has hit 😊. Seriously he’s thriving and has really come of age out on loan.
Q20 – Shankland was barely again for Scotland, do you think he’s underrated?
SN – A lot of good stuff for Shanks has come later in his career, at Ayr and then Dundee United. For us he scored 25 goals the first season and over 30 in his second, but some people just view it as it’s only Scotland. He got on for a bit in the first game and then on the bench in the second. It was similar to the Euros but it’s all about opinions. He just needs to keep doing it for us and keep getting his chance, there’s nothing else he can do.
Q21 – We keep hearing about the great academy, but what’s the point. We had 18 players in the squad against Motherwell and none were from the academy?
SN – I agree, when I played you had to have three players from the academy but it didn’t work, they just sat on the bench. There’s no reserve league and it’s hard for them to get experience, we need B teams in the league so they can play proper matches and get experience.
Q22 – It won’t change though if we do nothing?
SN – We’ve got 4 players in and around the first team squad just now, but I’m not going to just throw them in when it’s not going well as they could lose confidence. We need to accept that they’ll make mistakes as they’re young but it’s tough to do this, Tait in the semi final against Rangers is an example.
Q23 – Tynie is great when you win but can be bad when you lose. Can the players deal with that pressure?
FM – Booing doesn’t help anyone and won’t make players play better. The new signings have come from lesser teams to us and some don’t realise just how big Hearts are when they walk in the door. They’re not used to a full house every week or the away end being sold out. There is an expectation at Hearts and they need to get used to that and thrive on it.
Q24 – Any word on a new contract for Shanks?
FM – LS loves it at Hearts and we’d love him to sign a new deal. He knows what he’s got here and it’s a great fit. Ultimately results haven’t been good enough but the stats show that Shanks has had more touches in the opposition box than any other player this season, we just need the luck to change.
SN – Shanks is 29, ultimately he’ll do what’s best for him and his family. If he doesn’t sign a new deal, that doesn't mean that he’s not happy here.
Q25 - There’s lots of negatively at the moment and it was the same in December last year, we then won at Parkhead and went on a 11 match unbeaten run 😊. What’s your favourite goal for hearts?
SN – I could say the one v Hibs, but it was actually one ion the cup v Motherwell, they had a corner and it was hit up to me at the half way line and I ran it in. I enjoy all goals.
I loved playing at Tynie, it’s one of the best stadiums in the UK for atmosphere and you probably slaughtered me when I was here with Killie or Rangers. I’ve got great memories here and we need to create more.
Q26 – My bug bear is that we did really well v Rangers and then we changed it since then, why?
SN – Totally agree, ideally we want to play the same system against all teams, but Rangers come at you and leave space to exploit whereas Dundee Utd sat with a back 5 on the 18 yard line and it’s a totally different game. If we can break them down and score first then they’ll need to come out which will leave space but we’ve lacked that quality in the final third.
Q27 – Rather than brining in 9 average players, why not bring in 4 better players that are first team ready?
SN – I’d love to spend £1m on players but the reality is we can’t and even spending a but more doesn’t guarantee success. We need a bigger squad to cope with Europe, if we signed 4 players and 2 don’t work out, that means that we’ve only got two new players to work with and we’d be in trouble.
Q28 – With Shankland possibly leaving at the end of the season, should we not have signed someone now?
SN – We don’t know it’s his last season, we can’t just bring in a player of that quality, they’re like gold dust and if we did push the boat out and signed one and then Shanks signs a new deal we’ve got two highly paid players that.
Q29 – Asked a question without the Mircophone, no idea what it was.
Q30 – Have the Ultras made a difference?
FM – yes, there’s a far better atmosphere at Tynecastle now thanks to them.
Q31 – What was behind the decision to bring in Jamie Macdonald?
PG – We had a gap in ages from the younger keepers to Zander & Craig and Jamie is great character to have working with the B team and passing on all his experience.
Q32 – What’s the difference between Shanks the captain and Shanks the player?
SN – All our experienced players are great leaders, Frankie, Craig, Stephen & Shanks, they’re all captains on the pitch regardless of the armband. Being captain hasn’t impacted Shanks, there’s been a lot of other noise about transfers etc that could impact him and doesn’t plus he’s great with the youngsters.
Q33 – Against Spurs & Rangers, we played at high speed and got at them, what changed after the Rangers game?
SN – Dundee away wasn’t great and players lost a bit of confidence which we need to build back up. We need players to be big enough and strong enough to take risks and not just go for the safe pass and safe decision. Look to play forward rather than back to the Centre half or goalie.
The pressure is hard, but that’s the difference between good players and average players, being able to deal with the pressure.
Q34 – How confident are you for Saturday?
SN – I’m confident, same as I was last season, we know it’ll be tough, they’re doing extremely well. We’ve competed well against the old firm but haven’t always taken our chances and when you play Rangers and Celtic you need to take them as you don’t get many.
Q35 – How do you keep in touch with youngsters when they gout on loan?
SN – The players need to be part of the decision, make sure it’s right for them. Aiden going to Ross County is great for him and we know Don Cowie will look after him.
We see all the games for the loan players and we’ll also have people go and watch them play to ensure it’s right for them.
