Don’t doubt Levein’s passion for derby win

STEVEN PRESSLEY INTERVIEW:

THE bombast of a domestic struggle, the raucous roars of rival tribes, the whiff of desperation and demand hanging over a packed stadium like cordite … Tynecastle tomorrow will provide dramatic scenes and almost requires a dignified voiceover, a sober guide through the mayhem from a sort of Caledonian Morgan Freeman.

Step forward Steven John Pressley. He, after all, has been in this movie. He has played for Hearts and was once briefly a caretaker manager at the club.

He also has an intimate and detailed knowledge of the leading actors in a production that has lost nothing in terms of vim and fury over the years.

Pressley has also auditioned for a leading role in Gorgie. He could have been in the home dugout tomorrow for the clash against Hibernian instead of watching the match from his home in Leamington, Warwickshire.

‘I thought I had the job. I did,’ he says of the talks that followed the departure of Ian Cathro as head coach days before the start of the season.

Instead, he is left to continue his football education, with lessons learned forming a recompense for money unearned. However, his experience as a player and now a coach make him an incisive and insightful commentator on tomorrow’s action and beyond. He has spent recent months travelling to Israel, Mexico and Spain to improve his knowledge, observing such as Steve McClaren at Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid. As an employee and participant in the English game, he has also watched Jose Mourinho at close quarters.

This gives him an interesting perspective when considering two former allies who will seek to influence proceedings at Tynecastle. Pressley played under Craig Levein at Hearts and alongside Neil Lennon at Celtic. The laconic, lugubrious Scot and the energetic and expressive Northern Irishman may not seem kindred spirits as they stand on the touchline tomorrow, but Pressley’s analysis of both reveals a strong similarity.

He invokes both Simeone and Mourinho as he considers the character and characteristics of the leaders of the capital clubs.

‘The perception of Neil is that he wants to win it more but that’s not true. Craig will want it just as much,’ says Pressley.

‘They are so similar in many respects. Neil is a far more emotional manager, far more verbal and active on the touchline, far more outspoken in his interviews. But that doesn’t mean he wants to win more than Craig. They both truly demand that their team wins. You only have to play with Neil once and you realise that. Craig is more pragmatic, less openly emotional, but he is exactly the same.’

Both men are marked by attention to detail and demand much of their players.

‘It is the only way to be,’ says Pressley. ‘I was hugely impressed by Simeone when I visited Atletico before Christmas. I watched him over a couple of days and was struck by both his attention to detail and to the intensity of his methods.

‘His style is built on structure, detail, and a clear identity of how his team should play. He puts incredible demands on players in training. It is hugely intensive. From the moment the players come out to the moment training is stopped, demands are placed on them and they have to meet them. I loved it.’

Pressley played for Rangers, Coventry City and Dundee United before arriving at Hearts in 1998. Levein joined as manager two years later.

‘Craig was the first manager I worked with who went into a great deal of analysis and not just on the opposition,’ adds Pressley.

‘He would carefully analyse our past performances, analyse the work being done before games and whether it was beneficial or not.

‘He followed a similar theme most weeks. He likes structure. Football has changed enormously in some aspects and many things have remained constant. But analysis has changed it completely