Steven Naismith has been named as head coach of Hearts.
The Tynecastle club has confirmed a change to the coaching structure.
Frankie McAvoy had stepped back into the assistant coach role, while Naismith has assumed the reigns as head coach.
It comes after the ex-Hearts, Rangers and Scotland striker was named as technical director during the summer. This was due to an issue with his coaching badges with the club involved in UEFA competition.
🆕 Heart of Midlothian can confirm a change to the club’s coaching structure. Reverting to the setup that was in place at the end of last season, Steven Naismith shall become Head Coach on a permanent basis with Frankie McAvoy returning to the position of Assistant Coach. ℹ️⬇️
— Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) September 6, 2023
However, now that domestic football is Hearts' sole focus, the club has reverted back to the structure that was in place after Robbie Neilson's sacking in April.
“Of course, this is a proud moment for me, but I’ve long said that Frankie, Gordy, Gal and I are a team," Naismith said. "We work together, tirelessly, and today’s announcement doesn’t change that. Job titles have changed but the core of what we’re trying to achieve has not.
"We want to build this team up to play attacking, front-foot football that wins games. That attacking football was in evidence at the end of last season although we would obviously have liked more wins to go with it.
“I have also seen some signs of that over the past month, but I want to see more. We all know the last few results have not been what we expected, but we now have the international break to work on the training pitch and put it into practice at Tynecastle on our return.
“I’d also like to thank the fans for the support they’ve shown the team as well as Frankie and me. It’s very much appreciated, and rest assured that we will do everything we can to put on winning performances that they can be proud of.”
CEO of the club Andrew McKinlay added: “Firstly, I’d like to place on record my thanks to Frankie for all of his hard work over the past few months. He remains an important member of our coaching team, is well-liked amongst the players, and his experience of top-level football has been invaluable around the training ground.
“It is important that we now put all our energies towards targeting the top end of the league and qualification for European competition for a third year in a row which would be a first in the history of the club.”
