Steven Naismith now Hearts head coach as Frankie McAvoy becomes assistant in management structure rejig

In an expected move, Hearts have confirmed Steven Naismith is now their head coach.

After sacking Robbie Neilson last April, the Jambos appointed Naismith on an interim basis. However, a workaround was required when they decided to make that move permanent. Naismith is yet to achieve his UEFA Pro Licence, which is required for all coaches taking charge of teams in European competition.

With Hearts in the Europa Conference League qualifiers that meant former academy manager Frankie McAvoy was given the head coach role and Naismith appointed as technical director. McAvoy and Naismith both confirmed that the former made the final decisions. Both were in the dugout for the capital club's third qualifying round win over Rosenborg and their playoff defeat to PAOK, although McAvoy took on media duties.

But now Naismith is in sole charge with only domestic action to focus on. He said: “Of course, this is a proud moment for me, but I’ve long said that Frankie, Gordy, Gal and I are a team. We work together, tirelessly, and today’s announcement doesn’t change that. Job titles have changed but the core of what we’re trying to achieve has not. We want to build this team up to play attacking, front-foot football that wins games.

"That attacking football was in evidence at the end of last season although we would obviously have liked more wins to go with it. I have also seen some signs of that over the past month, but I want to see more. We all know the last few results have not been what we expected, but we now have the international break to work on the training pitch and put it into practice at Tynecastle on our return.

“I’d also like to thank the fans for the support they’ve shown the team as well as Frankie and me. It’s very much