Hearts boss Steven Naismith offers frank response to Millwall managerial links | OneFootball

Hearts boss Steven Naismith has brushed off speculation linking him with a switch to Millwall.

Earlier this week, a report from Football Insider claimed that the Lions were plotting a move to make the Scotsman their next boss, despite recently hiring Neil Harris.

Steven Naismith responds to Millwall speculation

It does not seem as though Naismith will be on the move any time soon, however, after brushing off the links ahead of Hearts action this weekend.

Naismith's side take on Greenock Morton in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup on Monday night, and ahead of the match, Naismith was quick to reiterate how much he is enjoying being Hearts boss at present.

“It is what it is," Naismith responded, via the Daily Record, when quizzed on this week's Millwall links.

"The reasons I’m doing the job is that I want to be successful, I want to do certain things in the game. If you’re doing well, inevitably people are going to say stories are what they are but ultimately I’ll decide what I want to do.

“If I’m successful, I’ll be the one that goes, ‘Right, aye, this is right for me, it’s wrong for me.’ I’m in my first year of coaching, I’m not naive to think ‘Oh, just go for the next one.’

“If you pick the wrong move, you’re done, simple as that.

"I appreciate everything I’ve got and I’m loving every minute here. I love being part of it, I’ve been part of it for a while, and there has been a vision from day one.

“The first conversation Ann (Budge) had with me was, ‘Tell me from your experiences, what’s good, what can we do better?’ That tells you everything you need to know from the first conversation.”

Steven Naismith linked with Millwall

As outlined above, those comments from Naismith came after being linked with the Millwall managerial job in the press earlier this week.

Football Insider were the ones to report that, claiming that the Hearts boss is on the radar of a number of Championship clubs after an impressive full first season in management up in Scotland.

Their report claimed that Naismith is very highly regarded within coaching circles having been a part of Steve Clarke's backroom staff with the Scottish national team and named Millwall as being among the sides interested in his services.

Millwall recently hired Neil Harris

The above links come despite there not actually being a managerial vacancy at Millwall at present.

In danger of relegation, the club recently appointed club legend Neil Harris to get them out of trouble.

Harris has had a decent start, and interestingly, penned a contract until the summer of 2025, not just this summer, which means the club will not even necessarily be looking for a manager this summer, either.

That is, of course, unless they plan on relieving Harris of his duties.

Harris was previously permanently in charge at The Den between 2015 and 2019 and went on to have stints as Cardiff City, Gillingham, and Cambridge United boss before his recent Lions return.