Steven John Naismith was born on 14 September 1986 and is a Scottish professional football coach and former player, who is currently the interim manager of Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian.
42 Facts About Steven Naismith
2.
Steven Naismith spent four years with the Ayrshire side where he won the SFWA Young Player of the Year award in 2006 and the SPFA Young Player of the Year award the following season.
3.
Steven Naismith signed for Premier League club Everton in 2012, and then joined Norwich City in 2016.
4.
Steven Naismith had two separate loan spells with Heart of Midlothian, and he signed permanently with Hearts after he was released by Norwich in 2019.
5.
Steven Naismith won 51 caps for the Scotland national team after making his senior international debut in 2007, and scored ten international goals.
6.
Steven Naismith mainly played as a forward during his career, but was used as a midfielder.
7.
Steven Naismith retired from playing in 2021 and took a coaching position at Hearts.
8.
Steven Naismith was made their interim manager in April 2023.
9.
Steven Naismith was born in Irvine, North Ayrshire and grew up in nearby Stewarton in East Ayrshire.
10.
Steven Naismith played for local boys club team Stewarton Annick before being on the books at Rangers as a youngster.
11.
Steven Naismith overcame dyslexia and has since become an ambassador for the Dyslexia Scotland charity.
12.
Steven Naismith played several years in the Kilmarnock youth team before signing professionally in August 2002.
13.
Steven Naismith signed a new four-year contract extension, and went on to win the Scottish Football Writers'Young Player of the Year award, after scoring twelve goals during the season.
14.
Steven Naismith made his Champions League debut at the Camp Nou against FC Barcelona in November 2007, coming on as a 78th-minute substitute.
15.
Steven Naismith returned to action in December 2008, playing in a reserve match against St Mirren and made a return to first team football in January 2009 during the Scottish Cup; coincidentally St Johnstone were the opponents.
16.
Steven Naismith featured in the 2009 Scottish Cup Final win over Falkirk after missing the majority of the season through injury.
17.
Steven Naismith then netted in the Scottish League Cup match against Queen of the South in September 2009.
18.
Towards the end of the season Steven Naismith scored two goals against Hearts at Tynecastle in March 2010.
19.
Steven Naismith then scored in consecutive games against Dundee United and Dunfermline in September 2010.
20.
On 29 September 2010, Steven Naismith scored the only goal of the game as Rangers defeated Bursaspor at Ibrox to gain them their first win in 12 UEFA Champions League matches.
21.
On 22 December 2010, Steven Naismith signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract to stay with the Rangers, keeping him tied to the club until at least May 2015.
22.
Six days later against Dunfermline Athletic, Steven Naismith scored another brace to take his tally to eight goals in eight league games.
23.
However, the match was overshadowed when Steven Naismith was handed a two match retrospective suspension by the SFA for elbowing Dunfermline captain Austin McCann.
24.
Steven Naismith later stated there was no deliberate intent and had already had an apology accepted by McCann.
25.
In June 2012, Steven Naismith lodged an objection against his contract being transferred to the new Rangers company.
26.
Steven Naismith signed a four-year deal for Everton on 4 July 2012, joining his previous striking partner at Rangers, Nikica Jelavic.
27.
Five years later, Steven Naismith stated that he had been poorly advised on the situation at Rangers at the time and regretted the way he had departed.
28.
Steven Naismith doubled his goals tally from last season to eight in this, to help Everton amass 72 points and finish fifth.
29.
In December 2014, Steven Naismith signed a new contract with Everton.
30.
On 19 January 2016, Steven Naismith joined Norwich City on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
31.
Steven Naismith trained with Hearts during July 2019, while he was waiting for a final payment from Norwich that would be voided if he signed with another club before 31 July.
32.
Steven Naismith was appointed Hearts captain in January 2020, after manager Daniel Stendel dropped previous captain Christophe Berra from the first team squad.
33.
Steven Naismith, whose father was born in Wales, was approached by the Wales national under-21 football team, but he decided to play for his homeland instead.
34.
Steven Naismith captained the Scotland U21 team in late 2007, and scored a winning goal against the Czech Republic.
35.
Steven Naismith was selected for all three of Scotland's matches in the 2011 Nations Cup when they reached the final but were defeated by the hosts Republic of Ireland.
36.
Steven Naismith scored the winning goal in the home match against Lithuania on 6 September 2011, in an eventually unsuccessful qualification campaign.
37.
Steven Naismith earned his 50th cap for Scotland on 16 November 2019, in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Cyprus.
38.
Steven Naismith was used on both right and left flanks for Rangers but as a central midfielder, with his versatility a key attribute.
39.
Steven Naismith's play has been attributed to his committed and fearless nature with an awareness and shrewdness which is required to play in a number of positions on the park.
40.
Steven Naismith joined the coaching staff of the Scotland national team.
41.
Steven Naismith became manager of the Hearts 'B' team in 2022, and was appointed interim manager of their first team in April 2023.
42.
Steven Naismith has launched a scheme to help ease the progress of injured ex-service personnel back into work, and supports centres for homeless people in Glasgow and in Liverpool.