A decision over Robert Snodgrass' Hearts future has been reached.
Steven Naismith has confirmed that the former Scotland international won't be getting much game time under him at Tynecastle between now and the end of the season.
It was reported yesterday that Snodgrass was in talks to end his stay at the Jambos just seven months into his year-long deal.
The former Leeds and West Ham star was sent off during Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to St Mirren and that is almost certainly his last act in maroon.
Interim boss Naismith, who replaced Robbie Neilson after his sacking on Sunday, confirmed that he's spoken with Snodgrass.
He said: “I had a conversation with Snoddy. I have a good relationship with Snoddy as a player and a teammate.
"The decision’s been made that he’s probably not going to get many minutes. I’ve experienced that myself as a player and we had a talk about it.
“Snoddy’s family are still down south and the best outcome for everybody would be that he gets time to spend with his family and I focus on a group that’s going to go forward.”
READ MORE: Hearts victory over Hibs could be launchpad for Naismith, says Levein
Naismith also paid tribute to Neilson when speaking to the club's website: “I’d like to touch on that. What the previous manager did during his time with the club was amazing. We had some tough times before he was appointed, and over a short period of time, he dragged the club to being back in Europe.
“That can’t be underestimated. A change has happened, and we now need to get back on that journey and continue on that crest of a wave to get back up there and progress the club. We’ve made massive strides and we have an opportunity to continue that.”
The former Hearts captain has outlined how he wants the team to play going forward.
He explained: “The feeling is one of immense pride. It’s a situation as a young coach going into management, it’s a fantastic opportunity. Did I ever expect it to come so quickly? Probably not, but since stepping into coaching, there’s been a rapid rise in terms of experience.
“I took the leads on the 18s when John Rankin left, then the B Team, and then being involved with the national team. I’ve crammed a lot into my time being a coach. I’ve learned a lot, and I feel that I’m well-equipped for the upcoming couple of months that there are going to be.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned since joining Hearts, is that there’s a demand at the club. It’s got to be a good demand, and the players have got to enjoy that. The fans want attacking football. They want a team that goes into every game trying to win it. Not one that’s going to defend and hold out for a draw or a 1-0 lead.
“I was like that as a player; I wanted to be on the front foot and enjoyed having the ball and creating opportunities. I want to play entertaining football. That’s easy to say, and harder to implement on the training pitch and in games, but that’s what I want.
“I’m not naïve to think that this is going to be easy, but I want us to be a team that takes games by the scruff of the neck."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel