Gary Mackay: Why Daniel Stendel made a shrewd choice naming Steven Naismith Hearts captain

I know Daniel Stendel said there were four candidates to be Hearts’ new captain, but I thought there were realistically only two. Steven Naismith and Michael Smith were the obvious contenders.

Stendel has been very shrewd here with the choice he made. Steven Naismith, whether he is playing or not playing, will be an exuberant captain for the club.

If he does miss a game or two through injury, perhaps even suspension, or a decision to leave him out for a game on an astroturf pitch, he has the right character to still influence the group. He just wants what is best for the team.

The manager knows he will get everything from Naismith – off the pitch, on the pitch, on the training pitch, in the dressing room, on the team bus, everywhere. The decision seemed pretty much like a no-brainer in that sense.

People look up to Naismith, young players and older ones as well. He won’t pander to people and he is very honest when he speaks.

When everybody else was trying to make excuses for defeats and performances earlier this season, Naismith was the one telling it as it is.

He was saying what supporters were saying, which was that some players had to look themselves in the mirror because they weren’t understanding the magnitude of playing for Hearts.

He understands it fully because, let’s be honest, he has played for bigger clubs. He also knows that the third biggest club in Scotland is Hearts after Celtic and Rangers.

That was summed up on Saturday against Airdrie when we had a crowd of 14,777 inside Tynecastle. Airdrie brought a good amount of fans with them and credit to them as a part-time League One outfit, but the vast majority of people who attended the game were Hearts supporters.

After such a poor first half of the campaign, it’s brilliant that the supporters are continuing to back their team on a crisp winter’s afternoon. Fantastic loyalty. Let’s hope it is rewarded.