Natives are restless and have Levein in their sights
TWO years ago this month, Craig Levein vowed to clear up a mess which was of his own making. Having been sorely mistaken in his belief that the appointment of Ian Cathro as Hearts’ head coach would prove transformative for the club, the then director of football reprised a dug-out role he last sampled during an ill-fated spell in charge of Scotland, which ended in 2012.
A Hearts man to his boot straps, Levein was not short of support from the stands as he tried to pick up the pieces after Cathro’s underwhelming tenure. The alliance he enjoys with owner Ann Budge meant he was also never going to be short on time either.
The weekend draw with Ross County does appear to have drained the patience of many of the Tynecastle faithful, though. Some 24 months after being left knee-deep in water by Cathro, Hearts fans are wondering exactly what happened to the repair job.
Levein and former Hearts midfielder Michael Stewart would never be mistaken for being the best of friends but the now BBC pundit’s statistical breakdown of Levein’s run since losing the Betfred Cup semi-final to Celtic in October is impossible to argue with.
Pointing out on social media on Sunday that the 26 points Levein accrued from 30 league games was the same percentage return as Cathro, Stewart questioned why Levein was not being held to the same standard as his predecessor.
The trouble for Levein — and Budge — is that an increasing number of supporters are now arriving at that same standpoint.
Ahead of a tricky trip to Motherwell in the Betfred Cup on Friday night, the growing feeling after a lamentable weekend display is that time is fast running out for one of the club’s most celebrated defenders.
‘If you were a neutral watching that game on Saturday, you’d have thought Hearts were the team which had just come out of a lower league,’ claimed Stewart’s fellow BBC pundit Allan Preston. ‘They had more than twice as many attempts at goal as Hearts did and missed a penalty right at the death.
‘I think County will be okay this season, but, if they end up being sucked into the play-offs, they’ll look back at that game as two missed points.
‘There were almost 16,000 fans at Tynecastle hoping to be entertained and they’re still waiting. Instead, Hearts just kept
launching long diagonal balls for Uche Ikpeazu and that didn’t work because Liam Fontaine and Callum Morris defended them brilliantly.
‘You’d think, when you have a 6ft4in striker, that you’d want wide men to get to the byline and put crosses in but nobody wants to take people on.
‘Celtic have James Forrest, Rangers have Jordan Jones, Aberdeen have Niall McGinn and Hearts are crying out for a winger. However, I reckon they’re looking to bring in a midfielder and another goalkeeper.’
The absence of tangible progress over two years has not been for the lack of trying. Nine players signed permanently in Levein’s first season with a further five coming in on loan.
There were an eye-catching 18 permanent arrivals last term plus four further loans with three fresh faces already in the building for this term together with a permanent deal for Steven Naismith.
Notwithstanding the serious injury that curtailed Naismith last term, sixth place and a Scottish Cup final appearance was a poor return.
If academy players were routinely being exposed to firstteam action, Levein would at least have a case in mitigation.
Yet, against County, outwith 34-year-old Christophe Berra and 26-year-old Jamie Walker, 18-yearold Euan Henderson, a late substitute, was the only one to be seen.
Many of those who felt an experienced hand was required on the tiller after the Cathro fiasco now have cause to wonder if matters have improved to any great degree.
‘Craig took the tough decision to get rid of Cathro, whom he had appointed,’ said Preston. ‘Results hadn’t been right and the supporters weren’t happy and that’s the case now, too.
‘Hearts have struggled ever since they lost the Betfred Cup semi-final to Celtic.
‘Yes, they had to contend with injuries to key players back then but that’s not the case now. There are difficult fixtures coming up after Celtic (who they play on Saturday week) and something has to change. Craig has Hearts in his blood but he’ll know that as well as anyone.’ Budge, too, is nobody’s fool. She doesn’t need anyone to tell her that the team is punching well below its weight and has been for some time. Were she to adjudge that Levein is now part of the problem rather than being the solution, Preston feels it will be hard for him to simply move ‘back upstairs’. ‘That will be a decision the board need to make,’ he insisted. ‘When Cathro was the manager, everyone believed it was Craig calling all the shots anyway, so, if he were to step down as manager and stay on, people would ask if anything had really changed.’ The club’s decision to allow the LA Philarmonic Orchestra to stage a concert on the Tynecastle pitch earlier this month is also perplexing, given the damage done to the turf.
‘The directors recently lectured supporters, who are pouring fortunes into the club, about throwing flares on to a pitch they’d spent £1m on,’ added Preston.
‘Yet they thought that this concert was a good idea.
‘As a season-ticket holder and a member of Foundation Of Hearts, that doesn’t sit right with me.
‘Players are always looking for excuses when they don’t play well and the board have just given the Hearts team one.’
Friday’s precarious trip to South Lanarkshire is another scenario which could easily have been avoided had they seen off Dundee United and East Fife in their group.
‘They were unseeded in the draw, which is their own fault,’ explained Preston.
‘Now you have a scenario where, by next weekend, they could be out of the cup and sitting with just one point from three games because it’s highly unlikely they’ll take anything from Parkhead.’