Hearts boss Steven Naismith reveals what would be 'game-changing' for Tynecastle club

It emerged earlier this week that Brighton owner Tony Bloom and the Hearts hierarchy are in talks over a deal that would allow the Jambos to use the businessman’s Starlizard sports analysis database and algorithms. Brighton have become hugely successful player traders since switching to the database, making more than £300 million in transfer fees, while another of Bloom’s clubs in Union Saint-Gilloise have become title challengers in Belgium,

It is understood that talks between Hearts and Bloom are progressing well and that a deal, which is worth potentially in the region of £10m to the Tynecastle side, could be concluded in a matter of weeks. The 54-year-old Englishman could take up a minority shareholding should the alliance prove successful and while unable to comment on the specifics of the Starlizard deal, he welcomed the notion of having more data at his disposal.

“To be honest, most things at the club I'm kept up to date with,” said Naismith ahead of Saturday’s Premiership match against St Mirren. “I'm not in a position to speak on it [specifically].  On data in general, I think it's a thing that's been happening in football for the last 10-15 years. It's now at a point where it's not just general output from players, it's in every area of the clubs.

“So I think personally it's something that's only going to get bigger in football. There's areas of the game that it's very early on in, but there's other areas where it can be a massive benefit. We use as much at the moment as we can and what we've got the resources for. But I think going forward in every area of every club it's going to be a big part of it But in terms of any deal I'm not really in a position to speak any more about it.”

Naismith believes data is only going to become a bigger resource for head coaches and recruitment chiefs at clubs like Hearts. “It gives you so much information that has now been proven that it makes a difference,” he continued. “Whether it be on style of play, recruitment, opposition analysis, it's a big thing. The better package, the better resource you can get, the more information you get, the more informed you're going to be on your decision making. So it's a big, big thing that's happening in the world of football.

“I think it has maybe over the last 10 years been low-key in terms of scepticism from some people. How much can it say? You need to see players, you need to see teams to see how they play. That element's still there but the amount of information you can get from it is definitely game-changing.”

Naismith has embraced what data is available to him as he tries to get the club further up the league table, with the Jambos bottom and winless after five matches. “In terms of data, we use it with the players' fitness, we use it with the style of play, we use it with the opposition analysis, we use it with recruitment,” he added. We use it at the levels that we've got at our disposal at the moment. 

“We're not at the top end of where it is generally in football. But like I said, I think like everything in football, as it's more mainstream and the resources are becoming easier to access, then I'll get touched on in all of these areas We try as much as we can with the different data packages that we've got at the moment, but there's definitely a lot of room for improvement with the better resources that you get.”