Observing how Moyes assembled his Everton team, Naismith made notes; the leader of the Jacksonville Jaguars hopes to accomplish a similar job at Tynecastle.
Hearts manager Steven Naismith acknowledges that in an effort to gain a head start on summer additions, he intends to adhere to David Moyes’ signing strategy.
During the international break, the Jambos signed pre-contract players Blair Spittal, the captain of Motherwell, and James Penrice, the left-back for Livingston. This comes after Ross County standout Yan Dhanda said earlier this summer that he would be moving to Tynecastle. Naismith declined to be drawn on specific players, but he wants the Hearts to plot their recruiting approach years in advance.
He also asserts that he is applying the knowledge he gained from his former Everton manager. “That’s something I’ve been really keen to do in terms of building for the summer,” added Naismith, whose team will try to extend the 11-point lead over Kilmarnock, who are now in fourth position, today. I most likely got it from questioning numerous supervisors about it. I thought David Moyes was the greatest. He completed an enormous amount of investigation and research on signatures.
“That’s why he did so well, bringing guys like Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka to them then becoming internationalists. Some of the coaches at Everton told me Moyes would go and watch a player 20 times in a season but wasn’t even looking to sign that player until the following season.
“For me as a player, the turnover of players and when players come in has been far too many. It’s unsettling. So that’s the route we’re trying to develop and take and hopefully it pays off.
“It’s not a case of getting to November and December and starting to think about the January transfer window. It’s continuous and it needs to be. It needs to work a year or two ahead and as a club that’s what we need to do.
“You have to predict a bit with what’s going to happen with certain positions and individuals and how we can improve. For us to get to that next level, you constantly have to improve. For the guys in the squad already, that also drills home the element of competition.”
And with attacking-midfielders Dhanda and Spittal and wing-back Penrice already having proven themselves in the top flight, Naismith hopes his summer arrivals can hit the ground running. He said: “The size of the club you’ve got to look at every area. If you sign a player from the league it gives them an advantage – they know what’s coming because Scottish football is different to a lot of other leagues.
“But you’ve also got to go and look further afield. Kenneth Vargas signs his deal, that comes in because we do a good deal for a loan that is structured in a way that we can sign him permanently.
“You’ve got to look at all the avenues but everything comes down to research and making sure you do your homework because every transfer is a gamble. But if you minimise the risk and you do that more than most you’ll get a higher success rate than others.”
With Hearts also having all but secured European football for next season, Naismith admits getting his business done early will help on that front. He said: “That is one part of it that you need to be ready for Europe. We don’t help ourselves with the structure and how we do things going into European competition.
“However, we must take all the action that is within our power, like adding new players more quickly.”
Lawrence Shankland received a yellow card for diving against Ross County, and Naismith is furious that his appeal was denied. “I believe there is clear evidence, and everyone can see there is clear contact,” he continued. Although it’s neither a dive or a booking, I’m not saying it’s not a penalty either.
“With the official situation, we are currently in a bit of a tornado.”
