Steven Naismith future a priority for Hearts boss Craig Levein
Thursday 18 April 2019 12:21, UK
Hearts manager Craig Levein says getting Steven Naismith tied down for next season is more important than rushing him back for the Scottish Cup final against Celtic.
The Scotland forward is currently ruled out with a knee injury and faces a race against time to be involved in the May 25 clash with the Hoops at Hampden Park.
But Levein is already preparing to take on Neil Lennon's triple-treble chasers without the 32-year-old.
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In the meantime, though, he is pressing on with talks to extend the former Rangers and Everton forward's stint at Tynecastle when his current loan deal from Norwich expires at the end of the campaign.
"It will be touch and go whether he makes the cup final or not. We've still got a bit of time," said Levein.
"But the most important thing for me is that we can get Steven signed up on a long-term contract and I want him to be in good health when we start next season. That becomes a priority.
"I'm sure if Steven is capable of playing in the cup final then he will and you know what type of character he is.
"If he can make it then fine, but I'm not relying on it and we're prepared to play without him. If he makes it then it's a bonus.
"I wouldn't gamble on his fitness. There are things you can risk but then make worse, a lot worse.
"Certain injuries you can do (take a gamble) with - this isn't that type of injury so the chances of us taking a risk are pretty low.
"The worst outcome is pretty bad so I don't think it's worth that, particularly if he's going to sign here long term."
But even if Naismith does fail his fitness battle, Levein stressed he will still have an important role to play.
He was part of the Hearts backroom team in Glasgow on Saturday as they booked their place in the final with a 3-0 win against Inverness and his manager wants him to be on call again to sooth his youngsters' nerves.
"Steven is an experienced player who's been to Hampden on numerous occasions so it made sense to take him along and have him talk about his experiences, particularly to the younger players," explained Levein.
"Everything Steven does is done diligently and he did a good job. We'll probably do the same for the final.
"We're still working on a new contract for him. We've made another step forward this week and have another meeting set for next week."
