Steven Naismith is a leader – but he may be too expensive for Hearts

It’s great news that Steven Naismith says he wants to remain at Hearts even if they do end up in the Championship next season. That’s his own thoughts, but I wonder whether the club could afford to keep him in the event of relegation.

With reduced income, there would certainly be a need to operate with a smaller and leaner squad. And the level of wages available would not be as high.

Would Hearts want to keep Naismith or would they look into possibly moving him on if we are in the Championship? It’s wonderful what he has done as team captain in taking the 50 per cent wage cut and you have to applaud that. He has set a very good example and, fortunately, he is in a position to do so.

When he says football has been good to him, it’s been good to him because of his quality and the level he has played at. He has been able to make money and he would probably be able to find another club on comparable salary if he had decided to leave Hearts.

For his influence and ability, you would certainly want to keep hold of him. He is popular with supporters and his experience would be invaluable if the club find themselves trying to get back into the top flight next season.

I do think some of the figures being mentioned as wages at Tynecastle are a heck of a lot if they are true. In a way, that’s what you must pay to attract the best. Keeping guys like Naismith and one or two others in the event of relegation will depend on how much money is coming in.

That then points to season tickets. Those will be a huge factor in whether the bigger earners can stay at Hearts, which puts the onus back on supporters again. Ultimately, it comes back to that same group of people all the time.

We have had individuals who have come in and helped, such as George Foulkes and others when we were trying to secure the future of the club. Ann Budge has done magnificently off the field but her mismanagement of the football department is probably summed up with the events of the last couple of weeks.

People’s lives are more important than football so it’s disappointing this has all come to a head while other people are losing their jobs, and other families are losing livelihoods.