Former City attacker Steven Naismith sacked by Hearts

The Edinburgh-based side announced Naismith's dismissal on Sunday afternoon, less than 24 hours after Hearts were beaten 2-1 by St Mirren. 

Naismith was being assisted by former City assistant boss Frankie McAvoy, but he has departed Tynecastle alongside the 38-year-old. The decision was made after Hearts CEO Andrew McKinlay said there was 'little evidence' of improvement under the Scot. 

Hearts are rooted to the foot of the Scottish Premiership table, and Naismith has paid the ultimate price for their woeful start to the campaign. 

"They worked tirelessly in their roles and without them we would not have enjoyed the successes of last season," McKinlay said in the official statement announcing Naismith's sacking. 

"However, things can change quickly, particularly in football. Results and performances have fallen below the standards expected at this football club and, unfortunately, there is little evidence of any potential upturn in fortunes.

"With our Conference League campaign about to commence, and the spotlight on our league position, we cannot afford to stand still.

"We will update supporters shortly about next steps in both the short and long term but for now, the club shall be making no further comment."

The sacking ends Naismith's first foray into management after landing the job on a permanent basis in June 2023 after a spell as interim boss. He won 28 of his 65 games in charge and led Hearts to a third-place finish last season. 

Norwich signed Naismith for £8.5m from Everton in January 2016 but failed to deliver during his time in Norfolk. 

Steven Naismith had a disappointing spell at Norwich City. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd) Naismith scored on eight occasions in 48 appearances during his time at Norwich before departing for Hearts initially on loan in January 2018 before making that move permanent after his release from City ahead of the 2018/19 campaign. 

Speaking on his ill-fated spell at Carrow Road to the Athletic in 2020, Naismith recalled: “When I signed, I didn’t do it thinking, ‘I’m here for six months and then I’m off. Some people at the club at the time may have thought I wanted that.

“I never thought we’d go down. That’s when it slightly changed towards me. It was more a case of, ‘Right, let’s get him out, get some money back and move on’. But I wanted to be at the club. I wanted to help them get back. Very quickly when I came back from the summer, I realised it wasn’t going to be plain sailing. I wasn’t going to be one of the key players. That was made very clear.”