They say that time flies when you’re having fun. If that’s true, then the past month must have felt like an eternity for Steven Naismith.
In the four weeks since his team’s promising opening day against Rangers, the Hearts manager has overseen two cup exits and back-to-back Premiership defeats. Pretty dismal stuff, by anyone’s standards.
Yet it is not so much the defeats behind closed doors at Tynecastle that should be cause for concern, but rather the manner in which they occurred.
A week after inflicting a bloodbath on Phillipe Clement’s side, Hearts fizzled out in a disappointing defeat at Dens Park, with Falkirk having little trouble knocking them out of the Premier Sports Cup.
An energetic display in their unfortunate first leg Europa League play-off defeat in the Czech Republic gave cause for optimism, but three days later they were quickly swept aside by struggling Motherwell.
Hearts manager Steven Naismith feels the pressure after poor start to the season
Blair Spittal and Yan Dhanda greet fans after their Europa League elimination midweek
Lawrence Shankland has yet to score a goal for Hearts this season
And with so much at stake in Thursday’s crucial return leg against Viktoria Plzen, their performance was nothing short of astonishing.
No urgency, no creativity and ultimately no quality. Their lack of energy was unfortunately mirrored by a despondent crowd who — based on what has happened in recent weeks — did not seem particularly shocked by what they saw.
Worryingly, Naismith seems no closer to knowing his best XI than he was when the season began. The constant tweaking of formation and personnel could simply be attributed to the rigours of a hectic schedule. But with six Europa Conference League games to come before Christmas, he’d better find a solution soon.
It may be premature to say that the Edinburgh side are in the midst of a crisis, but tomorrow’s visit of Dundee Utd now has extra significance with the international break approaching. Simply put, three points are a must.
It remains to be seen whether Naismith can call on Lawrence Shankland to captain the side against his former club after he picked up an injury midweek, but even he has been far from his best so far this season.
With the transfer window closed, Sunday would be the perfect opportunity for the Scotland international to rediscover his goalscoring prowess, which less than a month ago made him one of Scotland’s most sought-after players.
Given their impressive start to their return to the top flight, Jim Goodwin’s men are expecting to add a few more dark clouds to the sky over Tynecastle.
Dons want to keep bringing good times
Just a few hours further on, the picture could not be more different.
New Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin’s first few months in Scottish football couldn’t have gone much better. Eight games played, eight games won.
Considering that the Swede has barely been able to call upon the talents of star player Bojan Miovski – who is now playing for Girona – his achievements so far are all the more impressive.
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has made an excellent start to his career in Scottish football
Pope Habib Gueye celebrates his goal against Kilmarnock last weekend with Ester Sokler
That’s his right, he makes it look easy in the Granite City.
But while everything looks positive, and I know the Aberdeen supporters deserve that after what they have had to endure over the last few seasons, we may have to postpone the erection of a statue for a while longer.
Five of the Dons’ wins to date have come against lower-league opponents. That’s nothing to scoff at, of course – the Darvel debacle was not that long ago, after all – but their successes are hardly a huge surprise.
Their victories in the top flight have also come at the expense of teams you would realistically expect them to beat. St Johnstone proved a bit of a handful on the opening day, but subsequent victories over St Mirren and Kilmarnock came just days after they had both emptied the tank in Europe.
The Pittodrie side have an excellent chance of making it nine from nine this weekend when they take on Ross County, who last time out lost 6-0 to Hampden, and few would argue with that.
But it is premature to say they have a chance of splitting the Glasgow teams this season, to say the least.
Bigger tests await after the international break. Then we will see what they are worth.
Marley Watkins puts Kilmarnock ahead against FC Copenhagen in Conference League clash
Killie focuses on household chores again
It was fun while it lasted, but Kilmarnock’s European successes are over for a year.
The Europa Conference League elimination against Danish powerhouse Copenhagen on Thursday means the focus can once again be fully on the league, and that’s a good thing.
Derek McInnes’ side are yet to score, let alone pick up any points, in the Premier League this season, with continental football understandably taking its toll.
But Sunday’s match against fellow struggling Hibernian provides an ideal opportunity to kick-start their season and realise their ambitions of returning to Europe next year.
The visitors are also struggling, as manager David Gray is already under pressure and has only collected one point so far.
It may not be the highlight, but there is plenty at stake for both sides this weekend in Ayrshire.