Steven Naismith urges patience for Hearts' summer transfers as pressure grows on Tynecastle boss

Steven Naismith knows he is under growing pressure to put an end to Hearts' miserable start to the season - but believes his summer signings need more time to settle at Tynecastle.

The Jambos have lost three and drawn one of their first four Premiership matches this season and have already been dumped out the Premier Sports Cup by Championship side Falkirk. Naismith's men were also defeated by Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League qualifying play-off round and have now dropped into the revamped league phase in the Conference League.

Some sections of the Tynecastle support have started to turn against their under-fire boss, with the players departing to a chorus of boos in the 1-0 home loss to Dundee United before the international break. The former Scotland striker understands the frustration from the stands but is confident that the extra time on the training pitch can help them turn things around, with the Jambos still trying to bed in their 10 summer signings.

Speaking to the Hearts Standard, he said: "If you are at Hearts and not winning games, there is an expectation there. The same kind of things that were an issue at the start of last season. I think what’s lost in this, a lot of people have spoken of our good recruitment over the summer but every player we’ve signed has come from a lower-level team or lower expectation team coming into Hearts. That doesn’t just mean it is all going to click.

"I was very conscious last season, new players coming in are going to need time. In this day and age, you don’t get that. There is not any sentiment or understanding of the change that happened over the summer. People look at us, we got third, we got Europe so we need to get better than that but where my mind goes to is, name a