According to Andy Halliday, there may have been discord in the Hearts dressing room as a result of Zander Clark’s exclusion from Steven Naismith’s starting lineup.
Hearts hero and 41-year-old Craig Gordon has now returned the No1 jersey after Clark had started the first two competitive games of the season.
Gordon hasn’t missed a minute of action since Clark sustained an injury before to the first leg of the Europa League play-off match against Viktoria Plzen.
When Clark returned, Naismith made the decision to keep the seasoned Gordon in goal, but Halliday—who played for the Jambos from 2020 to 2024—has questioned this decision.
This season, Naismith was unable to establish a stable starting lineup, and Halliday believes that the Gordon-Clark decision may have caused unease in the locker room.
Halliday, the former star of Hearts, calls Zander Clark.
A day after Hearts lost 2-1 to St. Mirren and Naismith was fired as manager, Halliday spoke on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard and said, “(We speak about) the number of changes Hearts make from game to game, the changes in system and I’d argue the changes in style game to game as well.
“However, I’m only glancing at a few of the names on the bench.” And hear me out: we’re all talking about wanting two players at every position and depth of strength.
However, I see a lot of really prominent players who are occasionally benched, and I am aware of how frustrating it can be to feel like you belong on a team every week and aren’t having the opportunity to play, aren’t getting off the bench, or aren’t even selected for the team.
“And I have a few in my sights. In my opinion, while I am aware that Craig Gordon is a Hearts icon and is well regarded, Zander Clark suddenly jumps to the top of the standings three or four games into the season after missing one.
“I believe that in the last few games, Craig Gordon entered the game and committed two or three blunders, which is unusual for him. And while I don’t mean to overstate the situation, I am aware of how it feels to make these important decisions in a dressing room where some people will agree and others won’t.
I don’t want to call it toxicity because I know Zander isn’t that kind of guy, but when you’re changing that many things from game to game, stuff like that kind of get around the dressing room.
Boys like Lawrence Shankland, in my opinion, want to play in the greatest lineup possible for every game. It’s a large, robust team, and they are dealing with a lot of characters.
“I do believe that there are players on the team that have a lot of quality to develop, regardless of the manager who takes over. But they have to settle on their starting lineup.
What Liam Fox has in his Hearts in-tray
Getting the most out of a woefully underperforming team is one of Liam Fox’s top tasks as the interim manager of Hearts until a new boss is appointed.
The Jambos, on paper, recruited quite well in the summer and have quality in practically every position. However, as Halliday suggests, Naismith’s inability to choose a style or a reliable starting lineup ultimately hurt Hearts.
After six games, they are at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership standings with just one point gained against Rangers to show for their season.
Before facing extremely difficult matches against Dinamo Minsk and Aberdeen before the next international break, Fox will be under pressure to win at home against Ross County on Saturday.
After such a terrible start, you would think that Hearts would select Naismith’s replacement and try to get their season going.
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