Gordon Forrest explains Hearts talks which kept him at club and 'six focus areas' in Steven Naismith plan

Gordon Forrest has revealed there were no hard feelings from Robbie Neilson after he decided to stay at Hearts following his old pal's exit.

The coach worked closely with Neilson and Lee McCulloch during their time at Tynecastle and many fans assumed he would leave with them after they departed in April 2023 following a run of poor results. Forrest would remain with the Jambos, though, after head coach Steven Naismith asked him to stay and now he has broken his silence on the internal discussions which helped his decision.

"I have full respect for Robbie, we worked together at Dundee United," Forrest told the Evening News. "He made the move [to Hearts] and there was an opportunity to stay but he asked me to come to Hearts. It didn't go to plan eventually but I think there was still some great work done.

“When it [the change of manager last year] did happen, I had a good conversation with Robbie and Naisy asked me to be part of his coaching team. It was good to speak to Robbie to get his thoughts. I'm in a different situation than the manager, we have good respect for each other and he understands I like to be on the pitch to keep working. Fortunately, I got a chance to work with Naisy. He obviously worked with me from a player perspective. It was a discussion that we had and it was great to stay at the club.”

He added: “I was in MLS before and didn't know Robbie but knew him through football.

"I came back from Vancouver Whitecaps and was about to start a position with the Scottish FA as coach education manager, but he asked me to go in at Dundee United. That was the first time I met Robbie and we built a real good relationship. He asked us to come to Hearts. We've all been through these situations. That's four managers I've worked with but I am still close with them and got good relationships.

“I am a person who likes to be on the pitch working with the players. Naisy has been great in terms of the technical staff of Frankie, myself and Gall [Paul Gallacher, goalkeeping coach]. He gives us a lot of responsibility to get on with our jobs. I am heavily involved in the session designs along with the delivery on the pitch as well. Between us, on the tactical side, we have key areas we focus on more individually. We are looking at the bigger picture but we all take a chunk of certain aspects of the game.”

Forrest has always been told exactly what's expected of him by Naismith with whom he worked previously in Gorgie while he was still playing.

And the delegation process is an interesting one. “We've got these six key focus areas we try to work on, whether it is ourselves or the opposition," Forrest explained. "We take a more in-depth chunk of that. I'll maybe take out of possession, Naisy in possession, Frankie set-plays, Gall the goalkeeping, and then the two transitional moments and a bit of game management within that as well.

“We are zoned in on areas but I am someone who wants to be on the pitch as much as I can. It's about how you can support the manager as an assistant. I've done it for 17/18 years with a few different managers in a few different countries. It's trying to find out how the manager wants you within that role and what you can give him. Naisy has been excellent.

“I've got a coach education background, working with the SFA and New Zealand football, delivered on a lot of courses, worked with a lot of coaches mentoring but Naisy's done it the right way. His playing career is fantastic, the clubs he has played with, the managers he's played under, he's a thinker of the game. He went into coaching with the [Hearts] under-18s and then the B team. He's done it in a great way and learned what he wants to do as a coach, trying things with the 18s and B team. The first-team is a little bit different so he's gained a lot of experience doing it that way.

“He knows what he wants to do which is important. He's got a clear idea for the team and the identity of how we want to play. He knows what players he wants to recruit and his experience as well, he knows what he wants at the club in terms of environment and culture. You will see the different tweaks and changes within the training ground - chefs coming in, the travel. I know it is off-field stuff but it is good stages of improvement. So I’m very impressed. The good thing is that he is happy to delegate to the different people. We've got so many good support staff around he is happy to do that.”