Naismith was 45-minutes from saving Hearts job

Steven Naismith could person still beryllium Heart of Midlothian caput coach had they not had "a very mean 2nd half" successful Saturday's conclusion distant to St Mirren, main executive Andrew McKinlay has revealed.

McKinlay has besides disclosed that interim squad leader Liam Fox is not being considered for nan domiciled permanently, pinch nan Scottish Premiership nine looking externally for candidates.

While nan main executive did not sanction it specifically successful his question and reply session, external connected nan nine website, Jamestown Analytics - Brighton & Hove Albion proprietor Tony Blooms institution - will thief measure imaginable candidates arsenic Hearts tie up a shortlist.

Naismith was dismissed pinch Hearts person suffered 8 consecutive defeats this play and sitting bottommost of nan convention table.

"We had been hoping – nan fanbase, each of america – that we could move this around, but it became evident to me, and to others, astatine nan play that we conscionable weren’t seeing signs of it turning around," McKinlay said.

"I went into these 2 fixtures, St Mirren and Ross County, emotion that we needed, astatine nan very least, 4 points and hopefully six.

"Having said that, if we mislaid 2-1 astatine nan play but had a second-half capacity that was unlucky aliases really spirited, aliases we conscionable didn't get nan swipe of nan green, past that might've made maine deliberation somewhat differently, but we didn't.

"We had a very mean second-half capacity and that, unfortunately, near maine successful nary uncertainty that we had to look astatine making a change."

McKinlay addressed nan proposal that caller two-year contracts handed to Naismith and his assistants now seemed "ridiculous and made america look foolish".

However, he said they felt it only correct that nan nine exercised nan option, aft nan broadside vanished 3rd past season, "to springiness them nan stableness that they had asked for".

Of B-team leader Fox, McKinlay said: "He has acquisition managing a squad astatine Premiership level truthful I deliberation he’s nan correct personification for this interim period.

"He is besides alert that we are looking externally for nan longer word and he afloat understands that and appreciates nan reasons why we’re doing that."

As for nan timeline for a caller appointment, McKinlay suggested it "is a difficult one".

Although Hearts "update and refresh connected a 2 aliases three-monthly basis" their database of imaginable caller managers, they had cipher lined up arsenic a replacement.

"Where we are now is that we’ve had our ain lists and we're besides moving pinch an analytics company," he said, pointing retired that candidates had been putting their names guardant and "we’ve had a important magnitude successful nan past 48 hours".

"In fact, we’ve had a important magnitude successful nan weeks erstwhile to that, specified is nan quality of football."

Meanwhile, McKinlay added that sporting head Joe Savage had near this summertime "because he wanted immoderate clip distant from nan game, which I wholly understood and respected".

Replacement Graeme Jones, presently moving his announcement pinch nan Scottish FA, would person a somewhat different domiciled arsenic nan analytics institution would person a domiciled to play successful early recruitment.