Steven Naismith breaks Hearts sacking silence as he admits standards meant inevitable was coming

Steven Naismith has spoken for the first time since being sacked by Hearts.

The former Gorgie gaffer was shown the door after eight defeats in a row left the Jambos rooted to the bottom of the Scottish Premiership table following a 2-1 loss away at St Mirren. His dismissal, along with assistants Frankie McAvoy and Gordon Forrest, comes just weeks after the trip were handed contract extensions by the Hearts board,

However, the pressure of the losing run told in the end, especially after fans started calling for Naismith's head before full-time in Paisley. Now the former Scotland international has addressed the failings of this campaign in a statement, as well as insisting the capital club are on the verge of taking the next step towards success despite their lowly league position. It read: “I am disappointed that my time at Heart of Midlothian Football Club has come to an end.

This season has been a frustrating one for a number of reasons and ultimately it just hasn’t been good enough. When you’re at a big club with demands and expectations and you go on a bad run of form - pressure is always going to come.

"I would like to thank everyone associated with Heart of Midlothian, where I have spent nearly 8 years of my career. From my first day I formed a strong connection with the club and all who work there, I knew, understood and appreciated the standards and demands of HMFC and this was something I constantly tried to uphold as a player and manager.

"The board put faith in me and gave me the opportunity to become a leader of the club and I am truly grateful for that. I fully believe that this board are the right people to guide the club - I truly believe all they want is success. I also believe the club is very near to