Queen of Hearts Budge on her choice of boss .. Craig offers experience, continuity & stability
But fans chief tips support split
ANN BUDGE spent hours grilling contenders for the Hearts hotseat until she realised the best man for the job was sitting beside her asking questions too.
Craig Levein has been an integral part of Budge’s revolution that got Hearts started again when she took charge amid the chaotic aftermath of administration in 2014.
In the three years since he has been a trusted advisor, conceiving the blueprint for the football department’s structure from top to bottom – and overseeing its smooth running behind the scenes.
But in the absence of one outstanding candidate among an exhaustive list of interviewees eager to replace Ian Cathro, Budge was becoming frustrated.
Until she realised that in her right-hand man and director of football she had the answer all along.
High-profile names like former England boss Steve McClaren, Dougie Freedman and Billy Davies all came and went. Davies even left with a withering parting shot questioning the structure of the backroom structure led at the top by Levein.
With options narrowing seemingly to a choice between rookie caretaker boss Jon Daly or out-of-work former captains Steven Pressley and Paul Hartley, Budge came to the conclusion the man she wanted wasn’t sitting on the other side of the interview table.
In a statement confirming Levein’s appointment yesterday afternoon Budge said: “In deciding how best to move forward the board took into account the fact we are facing a unique set of circumstances this year, with the first match on our home ground not coming until three months into the season.
“Given this situation we believed it was essential to call on experience.
“Against this backdrop we drew up our selection criteria and invited a number of experienced managers/head coaches for interview. The candidates we interviewed were, without exception, first class.
“However, as the interview process progressed it became clear to the board the ideal candidate was already with us.
“Not only does Craig satisfy all of our requirements, in terms of experience and personal attributes, he also offers continuity and stability.
“During a time of great change at the club it is of paramount importance we consolidate progress already made and learn from our experiences.
“Having presented our plan to all members of the coaching staff and to our captain I can confirm everyone is fully behind it.
“We are therefore delighted Craig has agreed to take on this challenge and for the avoidance of doubt – yes, he will be taking his place in the dugout.
“And, yes, for the first time in the last three years he will indeed be picking the team.”
That joke was a little dig at accusations Levein was guilty of undermining previous boss Cathro by meddling in team selection.
The controversy of last season’s trip to Pittodrie – when Levein was spotted passing messages to Cathro during a 2-0 defeat by Aberdeen before entering the dressing room at half-time – was one of the defining moments of the 31-year-old’s ill-fated spell in charge.
There is no doubt Levein was available as a mentor for his young manager to lean on when required – that is after all a key element of a structure geared to bring through the talented young coaches within the club’s ranks. That will continue under the new-look structure with chairwoman Budge confirming a reshuffle behind the scenes to accommodate the director of football taking the hands-on role at the forefront of the team’s affairs.
Budge added: “Craig will continue to hold a seat on the board and retain the overall responsibilities associated with the wider role of director of football.
“However, his focus and priorities will change. To enable Craig to focus fully on the football manager remit, some minor changes to roles, responsibilities and reporting lines will be implemented within the current coaching team set-up and the youth academy structure. The youth academy has developed significantly over the last three years under Craig’s leadership but is now entering a period of stability.
“Various development programmes have seen the club invest substantial sums in new staff, new processes, new facilities and new systems. We are now reaping the benefits of that investment.
“Our head of academy, Roger Arnott, has full responsibility for running this operation on a day-to-day basis and will continue to do so.
“On the coaching front Craig will be implementing some changes to the roles/ responsibilities of some of our coaching staff, such that each member of the team will be given the opportunity to continue with his personal development. He will be assisted on the training ground by four first-team coaches, namely Jon Daly, Liam Fox, Austin MacPhee and Paul Gallacher.
“Each coach will have clearly defined areas of responsibility both on and off the training ground.
“Jon’s first-team responsibilities mean Andy Kirk will now take charge of the Under-20s on a permanent basis.”
The reshuffle hasn’t been universally welcomed by Hearts fans and supporters chief Stevie Kilgour admitted around half of them remain to be convinced.
Kilgour, general secretary of the Federation of Hearts Supporters Clubs, said: “It’s going to split the fans. Even before this he has split opinion among the fans as to whether he was doing a good job as director of football.
“I hear good and bad things from many
within our organisation so it would definitely cause a difference of opinions within the support.
“Personally I’ve always liked Craig and don’t think he was as bad as a lot of people make out.
“I thought he was quite a good manager – but I do know not everyone shares that view and I would say it does split them 50-50.
“Either way this is a case of Craig coming out of what some people perceive to be a comfortable position and putting himself directly in the firing line.
“If that’s his decision then fair play to him, he’s standing up and being counted.
“Financially it also makes sense to save another wage – or paying compensation – when the director of football is capable of just doing the whole thing.
“At the moment we need a good experienced manager to steady things and he certainly brings that. It’s a little bit disappointing given some of the names that were coming out.
“But even from the so-called big names – like Steve McClaren, Billy Davies and Michael O’Neill who was briefly touted – there was no one outstanding candidate where everyone was saying they’d like him.
“We were talking about that on our supporters bus on Saturday on the way to Motherwell.
“Folk were saying we don’t know who we want out of this from the names that were left.
“Jon Daly did well as caretaker but he doesn’t have the experience.
“Paul Hartley I don’t think has done anything wrong in his career. At Dundee he lost his two main strikers and they never replaced them so it wasn’t really his fault that the wheels came off from there. “Steven Pressley was an absolutely fantastic captain for the club but is another one who would instantly divide the support down the middle. “The elements who are not happy will be those who have never forgiven him for what he did when he came back with Celtic as a player – making a big show of thumping the chest and kissing their badge at the Celtic end. “That was very hurtful to a lot of Hearts fans who had considered him a hero until that day. “Some will never forget that and they would have turned on Elvis very quickly if he didn’t get results early on. “So in many ways Levein is the common-sense appointment but a lot of people will still take some convincing.”