Steven Naismith explains why he's not worried about Rangers defeat as he urges Hearts stars to revel in Euro journey

Steven Naismith might've been more frustrated with Hearts' draw at Kilmarnock this week had it been earlier in the season.

But given it has set his stars up for guaranteed European football the head coach took the positives. The Jambos need just one solitary point to seal their passage to at least the Conference League and that has been a point of achievement for their boss. Naismith was satisfied with a point away to their closest challengers Killie in fourth and that's another reason the 37-year-old was so content at full-time.

Naisy reckons his side should and could have won the game and put any doubts to bed yesterday. However he knows how tough trips to Rugby Park can and have been over the course of the season and he's not concerned.

“We should have had it won in the first half. Our performance was brilliant," he said. "The only thing we missed was probably a few goals. We did everything but score - and this is one of the toughest places to come. It was one of those days. The players didn’t do too much wrong and we hit the bar with Kenneth and Cammy.

“Maybe if this was September I’d be more frustrated. But we’ve ticked a game off with a really good performance. The fans were great today and we want to enjoy this month because it’s so rare. Today has been a big step in getting us over the line because we’ve asked Kilmarnock to not drop a point until the end of the season against the best teams in the league. We’re in a really good place and we can enjoy this month before the challenges of next season.”

Last weekend it was defeat to Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final that had doubts in Naismith's mind but he's made peace with that now.

He said: “We were disappointed last week but we’re driven. If we were five years on with this group of players coming to the end of a cycle with a demand to win a trophy - I’d be worried.

“But we’re at the end of a very good first season. Today shows the drive we’ve got.

“We could have just turned up today because it would take an exceptional run from Kilmarnock to catch us. But we didn’t because we’re driven and that’s a great sign for me.”