Jason Naismith (born 25 June 1994) is a Scottish professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays as a
defender. Naismith has previously played for
St Mirren,
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...
,
Cowdenbeath
Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...
,
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standin ...
,
Hibernian,
Ross County and
Kilmarnock. He has also represented Scotland in youth internationals, including one game at
under-21 level.
Club career
St Mirren
Naismith was born in
Paisley. A member of St Mirren's under-19 squad, Naismith made his first team debut as a substitute on 25 February 2012 against
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...
in the Scottish Premier League. In May 2012, Naismith was loaned out to
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...
for six months. In doing so he became the first player in history to be loaned between the
two rival clubs.
Naismith joined
Cowdenbeath
Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...
for a month on loan at the end of February 2013. On 24 May 2013, it was confirmed by St Mirren that Naismith had signed a new one-year deal to keep him at the club until the end of season 2013–14.
On 22 November 2013 it was announced that Naismith had signed a three-year contract extension, tying him to the club until the summer of 2017. Naismith scored his first senior goal for the club on 26 December 2013, in a 4–1
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...
victory over
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in ...
. During the
2013–14 season Jason became a regular first team player for the club, making 27 league appearances and scoring 2 goals.
On 15 August 2015, Naismith suffered serious knee ligament damage in a 2–1 home defeat to
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Dumbarton was the ca ...
in the
Scottish Championship
The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...
.
Ross County
Naismith signed for
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...
side
Ross County on 18 January 2017, moving for an undisclosed fee.
Peterborough United
Naismith moved in June 2018 to
EFL League One club
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standin ...
, with whom he signed a three-year contract.
He was loaned to
Hibernian in September 2019. Naismith made 14 appearances for Hibs, but suffered a serious knee injury during a Scottish Cup match at
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in ...
in January 2020. Following the formal conclusion of the truncated 2019/20 season, Naismith returned to his parent club in May 2020.
On 7 December 2020, Naismith left
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standin ...
via mutual agreement.
Ross County (second spell)
Naismith signed a short-term contract with
Ross County on 8 December 2020, although he cannot register to play for them until the January 2021 transfer window opens. Naismith was released by County on 27 May 2021 along with nine other players.
International career
Naismith has represented Scotland at
under 17 level. He made his debut for the under 17s on 11 March 2011 playing the full 90 minutes against
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
. He was also called up to the
Scotland under-18 squad in February 2012, and made his debut against
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...
in April that year.
In May 2012, Naismith spent time with the
Scotland U20 squad at the
ADO Den Haag
Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...
youth tournament in the Netherlands.
He made one appearance in the competition as a substitute against ADO, but was injured and missed the remainder of the tournament.
On 18 November 2014, Naismith earned his first
Scotland Under–21 cap against
Switzerland in a friendly match. The 20-year-old came on as a 72nd-minute substitute, replacing
Marcus Fraser. The match ended in a 1–1 draw.
Career statistics
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naismith, Jason
1994 births
Living people
Footballers from Paisley, Renfrewshire
Scottish footballers
Association football defenders
Scotland youth international footballers
Scottish Premier League players
St Mirren F.C. players
Greenock Morton F.C. players
Cowdenbeath F.C. players
Ross County F.C. players
Scottish Football League players
Scottish Professional Football League players
Scotland under-21 international footballers
Peterborough United F.C. players
Hibernian F.C. players
Kilmarnock F.C. players
Queen's Park F.C. players