BUDGE SHOWS HER FLEXIBILITY

Budge shows she can be flexible in the face of a crisis

ANN BUDGE is fast discovering the harsh realities of the football world. After a period in which all she touched turned to gold, recent months have been a more chastening affair.

The appointment of a fledgling coach in Ian Cathro was a disaster brought to a blessed premature end. The new stadium is over budget and over schedule, meaning the club’s first ‘home’ games of the season are having to be played at Murrayfield. The fact that someone forgot to order the seats in time brought added embarrassment.

On the park, the team has stuttered, although Jon Daly has emerged with credit for his time at the helm.

As Budge is discovering then, this game is no respecter of five-year plans intended to challenge accepted wisdom. A sport with a reputation for delivering a swift rebuke to radical thinkers, football asks only one thing of those who would survive and thrive amid the mayhem.

Be ready to adapt to anything. If you’re not prepared to tear up your first, second or third plan, you’ve got no chance.

So, while it’s easy to mock Hearts for undertaking a lengthy recruitment process only to appoint the guy overseeing that talent search, what yesterday’s news confirms is that Budge at least understands the need for flexibility.

She has decided that, while the mildly revolutionary idea of a football department may have been ideal for the years immediately post-administration, there are times when the tried-and-tested methods work best.

As Hearts fans divide into traditional pro- and anti-Craig Levein camps, then, Sportsmail asks a few key questions about one of the most discussed appointments of recent years.

WHY DO THIS?

Hearts desperately need stability. After the mess of the Cathro experiment, they need it now.

With a series of ‘home’ games at Murrayfield coming up, the cost of just hanging on and hoping for the perfect candidate to turn up might have been very high, indeed.

The last thing Budge wants is to face a support in open revolt, driven to the brink of despair by wobbling first-team form, on that glorious day when the new Tynecastle is finally re-opened for business.

Always against ‘taking a chance’ on interim head coach Daly, Budge confessed yesterday that off-field developments had influenced her decision.

‘The board took into account the fact that 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,’ she explained. ‘Given this situation, we believed it was essential to call on experience.’

Levein has been handed a salvage job. Make the team harder to beat. Harder all round, in fact. Tougher, meaner, more able to cope with the rigours of the Scottish game. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL ROLE AND THE IDEA OF DEVELOPING COACHES IN-HOUSE?

Levein and Budge put a lot of stock in a system where any head coach — Robbie Neilson initially, then Cathro and presumably any candidate applying for the job this time around — would be expected to answer to the former Scotland boss.

This was obviously a problem for some applicants, a number of whom raised concerns about the influence Levein wielded.

It is interesting to note that, under the terms of the deal announced yesterday, Hearts won’t be recruiting a new director of football to supervise Levein — leaving him free to focus entirely on the first team. Read into that what you will.

Levein is also categorically not taking charge just for the short term, leading the way for Daly or another rookie to follow in the summer.

As with many grand plans, there was nothing wrong with the idea of a senior figure bringing through a production line of young coaches.

But the attempt to formalise the old Liverpool boot room overlooked the fact that the Anfield model was entirely organic, built partly by design, partly by luck.

The structure announced yesterday looked very much like a throwback to the old days of managers with a say in every aspect of the football department, from signings and contracts to picking the first XI.

IS CRAIG LEVEIN REALLY THE BEST MAN FOR THE JOB?

Discuss. Argue. Hearts fans are already way ahead of the general populace on this one, having spent years bickering among themselves about the respective merits of their former manager.

What matters now is that Budge is staking her reputation on Levein doing the business.

He has always been her guy, the person she turned to for advice on all things football. Now he’s answerable for every bad result. And so is she.

Levein himself must feel pretty confident, having interviewed — and rejected — the likes of Steven Pressley and Paul Hartley before deciding nobody could do the job better than him.

Budge, who stressed that all the managers and head coaches interviewed had been ‘experienced’, insisted: ‘The candidates we interviewed were, without exception, first class.

‘However, as the interview process progressed, it became clear to the board that 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 that we consolidate progress already made and learn from our experiences.’

Levein shouldn’t find it too hard to juggle his many duties, having been an influential member on the board at Dundee United during his time as boss at Tannadice.

Despite having appointed the biggest flop in recent Hearts history, Levein — as a coach — is also very much the Anti-Cathro.

AND WHAT HAPPENS TO INTERIM BOSS JON DALY?

He won’t be going back to the Under-20s. Levein has decided that, in his new role, he needs four first-team coaches working under him.

Budge explained that Daly, Liam Fox, Austin MacPhee and Paul Gallacher will each have ‘clearly defined areas of responsibility, on and off the training ground’.

SO WHO MAKES THE BIG DECISIONS?

At long last, there is no more reason to ask the question. No sniggering about notes passed down from the directors’ box or whispers about team selection by consensus.

Budge couldn’t help poking a bit of fun at the various accusations levelled over the years, concluding her statement by declaring: ‘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!’

All at Tynecastle will be hoping Levein gets the big calls right. For Budge, and Hearts, cannot afford another mistake.