Steven Naismith didn’t want to risk an appeal against Alex Cochrane’s controversial VAR red card against Celtic at Tynecastle.But the caretaker Hearts boss wants his squad to throw caution to the wind in their final four-game push.
Naismith opted against fighting the defender’s two-game ban for clipping Daizen Maeda in last week’s harsh 2-0 defeat to the champions as he was spooked by the Graeme Shinnie extra-match suspension storm at Aberdeen.Cochrane will miss tomorrow’s clash at St Mirren and the encounter with Rangers but will be able to take on the Dons next weekend then Hibs.
Naismith said: “The process is why we don’t appeal it. There are previous cases that have come and gone and the consequences of them were part of the thinking.“I wouldn’t want to take a risk.
I would rather have him available than risking him missing more games. We took the view that if the league have a tool in place which is to help referees, they have looked at it and came to that conclusion.
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