‘Norwich will have a big say in what happens’ - Steven Naismith weighs up next career move

The City midfielder has enjoyed his five-month loan stint back in Scotland after falling down the pecking order under Daniel Farke at Carrow Road.

Naismith is one of the biggest wage earners at the Canaries but has failed to make his mark since a reported £8.5m move from Everton in January 2016.

The Scottish international, who has scored once in nine loan appearances for Hearts, has one year left on his existing City deal, but expects his future to become clearer in the summer.

'A lot is going to be up to Norwich to be honest,' he said, speaking to the Edinburgh Evening News.

'I've got another year on my contract there and they've moved in a different direction, undoubtedly. They will have a say in it but I would definitely be open to staying in Scotland and staying at Hearts.

'I've loved every minute of it here and the club have been great with me.

'Probably the biggest thing is they have a very good squad of players with ability and who are also good characters to be around.

'I'm open-minded to anything at the moment. I have enjoyed it here. It's a totally different set-up in terms of what I have been at before. That brings its own new challenges but also good points as well.

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'Norwich will have a big say in what happens in the summer but I'm definitely open-minded.

'At the moment, I stay until the end of the season.

'The manager said at the start of it all that he wanted me to come in and show, through the experiences I've had, what he would expect from players day-to-day.

'That means your attitude before training, what you do afterwards, how you conduct yourself around the place. He wanted to give the younger players an insight into what it's like at higher levels.'

Naismith has still not given up hope of forcing his way back in the Scotland set-up following the recent appointment of Alex McLeish.

'I would never shut the door on Scotland, definitely not,' he said. 'It's one of the proudest things I did in my career.

'It's something I'll always push for. I'll try to keep doing well to hopefully get selected again. I expected the manager to come in and introduce some new faces and put his own stamp on it.

'He'll change it up and drive it forward, not only the way he wants but maybe also touching on a few things he did in the past as national manager.'