Calem Nieuwenhof sees Hearts needs trump his own as Steven Naismith makes Australia prediction

Steven Naismith is set to block Australia U23’s hopes of calling up Calem Nieuwenhof for their Olympic qualifiers next month - but insists the midfielder should be a fully-fledged Socceroo soon anyway.

The Hearts boss wants Nieuwenhof to remain in Edinburgh with a Scottish Cup semi final against Rangers fast approaching and key games as they look to tie down third spot in the table. The 23-year-old has become a vital cog in the Tynecastle machine as they have stormed clear in the Premiership’s best of the rest spot.

And his form has him firmly on the radar for former Rangers star Tony Vidmar’s Olyroos who face an Asian Cup triple header against Jordan, Indonesia and Qatar starting on April 15. Those ties double as Olympic Games qualifiers ahead of this summer’s showpiece in Paris. But Naismith reckons Hearts’ need is greater, especially with the Hampden semi final falling on April 21. Nieuwenhof has sat out the last two games with a hamstring injury but is due back against Kilmarnock after the break.

And asked if he would release the former Western Sydney Wanderers star next month, Naismith said: "I'm not sure. We'd have too many big games coming up at that point. He's been valuable for us. I'm not sure that's something we could sanction, really. We expect Calem back during the international break, which then puts him into the first game back.”

Nieuwenhof - who has seven caps for the Aussie U23s - has grown to become a key man in the engine room for Naismith after making the switch from down under last summer. Sitting in beside Beni Baningime his energy, reading of the game and range of passing has been impressive and he’s chipped in with a couple of goals in his last nine appearances too.

It’s form that Naismith reckons