Steven Naismith lifts lid on the David Moyes Everton inspiration behind Hearts’ transfer strategy
Hearts manager explains thinking behind trio of pre-contract signings
Steven Naismith studied how David Moyes operated in the transfer market and is now taking a leaf out of his former Everton manager’s book in an attempt to take Hearts to the next level.
The Scottish Premiership campaign still has eight games remaining but the Tynecastle side, who are 11 points clear in third place, have taken significant strides towards buillding for next season with three new signings already secured. While not confirmed officially, it is understood that Ross County winger Yan Dhanda, Motherwell midfielder Blair Spittal and Livingston defender James Penrice have all agreed to become Hearts players when their contracts expire in the summer. Naismith won’t yet speak about the trio of incomings – they are, after all, still playing for rival clubs – but he revealed that the recruitment strategy was inspired by his former Goodison Park mentor.
“That’s something I’ve been really keen to do,” Naismith explained. “We do a lot of work every day on recruitment. I’ve probably taken it from asking a lot of managers about it. The best for me was David Moyes. The research and the homework he did on signings was massive. That’s why he did so well. Bringing guys like Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka in and helping them become internationalists. Good foreign players as well that helped kick his teams on to the next level. That’s all down to hard work and it’s about having that as a separate thing to the football club. It’s not a case of getting to November and December and starting to think about the January transfer window.
Hearts head coach Steven Naismith during a training session at Oriam on Friday. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)
“It’s continuous and it needs to be. It needs to work a year or two ahead and as a club that’s what we need to do. You have to predict a bit with what’s going to happen with certain positions and individuals and how we can improve. For us to get to that next level, you constantly have to improve. For the guys in the squad already, that also drills home the element of competition.”
Naismith himself, who scored 25 goals over a four-year spell at Everton, was one of a number inspired signings made by Moyes, who snapped him up on a free transfer following Rangers’ financial meltdown in 2012. While at the Toffees, the current Hearts boss got an insight into the amount of work and forward planning that was put into identifying each new arrival.
“I got on well with a lot of the staff with the recruitment,” he recalled. “The amount of hours they spent watching players was incredible. Some of the coaches told me Moyes would go and watch a player 20 times in a season, but wasn’t even looking to sign that player until the following again season. He’d go on midweek trips in Europe to watch players. If you look, his track record of signing players was very good and he doesn’t get the credit for that he deserves. For me as a [Hearts] player, the turnover of players and when players come in has been far too many. It’s unsettling. So that’s the route we’re trying to develop and take and hopefully it pays off.”
It is notable that Hearts’ pre-contract signings are arriving as experienced Scottish Premiership players – “it gives them an advantage,” Naismith explained. Having new recruits in from the first day of pre-season also brings benefits, particularly for a side likely to be playing European qualifiers before the domestic season kicks off.
Steven Naismith played under David Moyes at Everton.
“In an ideal world, that’s what you do,” Naismith added. “Football isn’t as simple as that and the options available at the start of the window aren’t always the same at the end. In the two windows I’ve dealt with, that’s been a big difference. The summer window we were late getting players in for one reason or another.
“In January we identified what we needed and we went out and got it done early. 100 percent that makes a difference. The quicker you’ve got players, they’re at ease in their surroundings quicker. We do a good job when we’re speaking to players of giving them a full picture of what is coming.
