Steven Naismith reveals when he'd walk away from Hearts as boss admits pressure taking toll

Steven Naismith admits the pressure at Hearts continues to mount after another defeat in the league - as he revealed the only reason he would consider walking away.

The Jambos lost 2-1 to St Mirren in Paisley this afternoon thanks to a Gerald Taylor own goal and a strike from Toyosi Olusanya either side of a Craig Halkett equaliser. It's a result which leaves them rooted to the bottom of the Premiership table without a win in six of their opening fixtures.

Fans made their position clear at full-time as they booed their players off the pitch and some demanded Naismith's head following another poor result. The head coach, though, is adamant he still has the belief and trust of the changing room and he's sure he can turn things around for the club.

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If he didn't think that way, the 38-year-old would resign for the good of the team. Could the pressure be taking its toll? "Definitely. Every game we don't pick up a win the pressure builds. I'm realistic, I've been in the game long enough to understand that," he told BBC Sportsound. "A club like Hearts this run of form is a really poor run. I do genuinely believe the players are still working really hard. What we worked on all week we seen for 60 minutes.

"The small margins are we're punished, but my relationship with the club and board is very good, I've said consistently if I felt the players had lost understanding of what we're wanting or that I'd lost the players, I'd walk away. I don't think we're at that point.

"There's small parts of the game in both boxes that are costing us. I'm definitely up for the fight, I love the job, I love the pressure that comes with it and in these moments you learn a lot. But I believe we can get round this and put a good run of form together.

"I fully believe I can turn this around, if I didn't I wouldn't be here."

Naismith has a strong bond with the board at Tynecastle and he believes he'll be given time to improve things on the pitch. And he's urged the punters to stick with them even through a rough patch.

"Time is a thing you don't get but there's not a better club to be at to get as much as realistically you can get. But fan opinion is going to be strong, they're disappointed, you heard that today. The club are sensible and have a good understanding, in the last six years they've made a lot of good decisions, they'll make the right decisions at the right time but I believe we can turn this around.

"I get frustration and anger, we're fortunate we've got a passionate support who travel everywhere. At this moment in time we're not giving them enough, it's as simple as that. They have a high demand at the club but that can only drive and is probably what brings the optimism at the club. We've got to give them something to enjoy their weekend about and at the moment we've not done that enough."