The Hearts head coach has had some time for reflection.
Hearts head coach Steven Naismith wants a touch of the bold added to his side’s play after a unique meeting with Burnley.
After friendlies with Leyton Orient and Tottenham, the Premiership side faced off against English Championship opposition behind closed doors. It came with a twist though, as two matches of 75 minutes were played simultaneously at Burnley’s training ground.
One star who returned for Hearts is Kenneth Vargas after international duty, with a final friendly to come next week vs Fleetwood Town before league business begins on August 3rd vs Rangers. Naismith believes Hearts are in a good place as competitive action draws closer, as a ‘bolder’ ask is made of his team.
He said to Hearts TV: “It was really good. We had two teams playing at the same time for 75 minutes, so everyone got more minutes on the pitch. Coming down to play big clubs in England has so many positive aspects to it. Can we press them, win the ball back, and create chances?
“I think today I saw good bits and other elements where I’d like to see us being bolder. Overall, it was a really good performances in very tight games. Similar to Spurs, you need to accept there are times where you won’t have the ball and you need to work out when you’ll have the opportunity to win it back and work through the pitch in such a way to create chances.
“We’re in the final stages of pre-season now where we’re past the slog and can look forward to getting back into a rhythm. We’re now building the sharpness and getting ready to go for the first game of the season. We’re in a good place, in good spirits, and it shows with the quality and competition for places that exists within the group now.
“There’s a couple of days off now so they can take their minds off football and let themselves recharge a bit. We’re then into a normal schedule with Fleetwood next weekend and then the first league game the following one.”
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