Steven Naismith tries to wipe out Hearts musical titles repeat as he takes step to satisfy UEFA dugout rule

Steven Naismith is ensuring there will be no repeat of the Hearts dugout workaround for European games as he embarked on his UEFA Pro Licence.

The Tynecastle gaffer was initially named technical director with Frankie McAvoy given the head coach title. That was due to UEFA rules dictating that all head coaches must hold, or have begun the process of attaining their Pro Licence in order to take their place in the dugout. With the Jambos in the qualifying rounds of the Europa Conference League, that meant Naismith had to be been to be taking a back seat.

In reality, the former Rangers and Everton star was still the man in charge and he helped the Gorgie outfit to a memorable win over Rosenborg before a heavy second leg defeat saw PAOK dump the boys in maroon out in the playoff round. Soon after, the club announced that Naismith's title was being changed to head coach amd McAvoy to assistant along with Gordon Forrest.

Hearts are back on the continent this season, this time in the playoff round of the Europa League. And they know that whatever happens, they'll have European football until Christmas with the safety net of the Conference League league phase.

And Naismith will be in charge on paper and in practice. He is one of the Scottish FA's new intake of candidates on their Pro Licence course. He's joined by some familiar faces too, with former Ibrox teammate Charlie Adam in attendance, along with former Celtic skipper Scott Brown and Jonny Hayes. The Irishman is wanted by Celtic for their vacant U18 coaching role, although there's also a coaching gig on offer to Hayes at Aberdeen.