Hearts will be hoping the Steven Naismith era will enable the club to reach the next level and perhaps even lift a trophy, with, aside from two Championship titles, the 2012 Scottish Cup remaining their last major trophy win.
He will have the entirety of the summer transfer window to sign players and vastly improve his squad, and with the qualifying stages of the Europa Conference League fast approaching, the 36-year-old may have to start his business sooner rather than later, especially if he wants the Tynecastle outfit to repeat their group stage heroics last term.
There is a good core to the Hearts side, with a reliable goalkeeper in Zander Clark, talents such as Toby Sibbick and Barrie McKay across the defence and midfield, while striker Lawrence Shankland scored 28 goals last season remarkably.
One player that will be hoping to have a more productive season in 2023/24 will be defensive midfielder Peter Haring, who saw his playing time last term limited due to suffering a concussion and missing 26 games across all competitions.
Will Peter Haring be a key player for Hearts next season?
The 30-year-old joined the Jambos back in 2018 and has since gone on to play over 100 games for the club, helping them reach three Scottish Cup finals during that time period, albeit losing each one.
During 2021/22, he showed his importance to the team by ranking in the top ten out of the whole squad for tackles (1.5), interceptions (0.7), clearances (1.2) and key passes per game (0.7), indicating that he was a vital member of the first team as they finished third in the Premiership.
Due to the aforementioned injury problems, he started just 15 matches last term which affected his performances as he achieved a Sofascore rating of 6.72/10, creating zero big chances and making only 0.4 key passes per game as he averaged 60 minutes a match.
Naismith will be hoping to get him back to his best following a full pre-season, and he lauded the 30-year-old as he signed an extended contract with the Edinburgh side.
He said: “Having played alongside Pete I know all about his strengths and qualities so it’s great news for the club that he’s going to be here next season. He was a big miss to the team when he was out injured but he’s come back and made an impact because he’s influential both on and off the pitch."
These words will surely give him a confidence boost and there is no denying how effective he can be in the midfield when fully fit. That is something Naismith will be counting on when the 2023/24 campaign kicks off in a matter of weeks.