Budge asks Levein to help pick successor

ANN BUDGE has revealed she will still seek the opinion of sacked Hearts boss Craig Levein as she searches for his successor.

The former Scotland manager was axed last week after a 1-0 defeat to St Johnstone left the Tynecastle outfit sitting joint-bottom of the

Premiership. The 55-year-old was also relieved of his duties as director of football — with chairman Budge yesterday expressing ‘regret’ that she agreed to a suggestion from an unnamed fellow board member that he would be able to carry out both roles simultaneously. Levein will remain at the club until the end of his contract next summer and Budge, who stressed he now has no input into first-team affairs, plans to put a new structure in place including a newly created sporting director role. She believes she would be foolish not to seek his advice on both posts. Budge said: ‘I’m not going to stop talking to Craig. If I get to the point where I’ve got two or three (candidates), will I ask Craig’s opinion? Yes, probably. What I don’t want to do is let people think he’s going to be involved in the recruitment process. But I might ask his opinion in the same way as I would ask someone else’s opinion if I thought they were suitably qualified. ‘I’m going to be talking to Craig potentially even more than I did in the past because of the (sporting director) role we are shaping up. ‘Will I ask Craig for input into the identity of the new sporting director? I might well do, yes. ‘Some people may think: “It’s very clear that hasn’t worked, so (Levein) has to go!” But why throw the baby out with the bath water? ‘I’m also talking to a lot of other clubs — predominantly in Scotland — because they’ve gone through this process. ‘I am trying to arm myself with as much information as possible and I do have a lot of contacts.’ Budge will stop accepting applications at the end of the week and finalise a shortlist before starting interviews next week. She is in no hurry to appoint Levein’s successor and believes caretaker boss Austin MacPhee could remain in temporary charge for the Kilmarnock game at Rugby Park on November 23. Motherwell’s Stephen Robinson has been heavily linked with the post but Budge appeared to pour cold water on suggestions he is her top target as she set her sights on a ‘high-profile’ appointment. Roy Keane has been linked with the job alongside Inverness boss and Hearts legend John Robertson and former Tynecastle winger Neil McCann. Budge confirmed finances are in place should she go for a manager currently under contract at a club. ‘I read that I’m about to appoint a particular manager and it’s going to cost me so much. It’s the height of nonsense. Neither myself nor the club have approached anybody’ she said. ‘If I was to approach a manager who is already under contract, believe me, I would do it properly. ‘We’ve had a very high calibre of applications and I think we are going to have an interesting time. ‘We need to compete with the top clubs in Scotland and, to do that, I want to ensure we get a very experienced and high-profile manager. ‘Do we have funding from benefactors or the club? Both. The benefactors have been amazing and they have pledged their continued support. If we have to do something, then we know we have the resources to do it. ‘Is experience of Scottish football important for our next manager? It’s something you can’t ignore but not having managed in Scotland would not preclude someone from getting the job.’