Souttar’s plight mirrors Levein’s misfortune as a player
CRAIG LEVEIN sees plenty of parallels between his younger self and John Souttar, an emergent Hearts defender forced to toughen up in the spotlight before being struck down by serious injury.
The Hearts stopper was forced off at Celtic Park last weekend, having suffered a snapped Achilles tendon that is set to sideline him for six months.
For Levein, the club’s director of football, there was frustration at seeing one of Hearts’ brightest talents struck down mid-season — and just as he had been paired with the experienced Aaron Hughes, the 37-yearold internationalist brought in to help mentor Souttar for the rest of the campaign.
‘There are a lot of things about this that are sad, annoying and frustrating,’ said Levein. ‘That being one of the main things — Aaron would have helped him.’
Nevertheless, Levein believes Souttar, 20, possesses the necessary mental strength to come back an even better player.
A first-team footballer at Dundee United at the age of 16, Souttar was struggling in a team bound for relegation when Hearts decided to make their move just over a year ago.
Levein continued: ‘John has had a tough time of it. He played a lot of games at Dundee United and was judged at 17 years of age. I didn’t play centre-back at Hearts until I was 19 and I couldn’t win a header for two years. That’s true.
‘You are learning against men. Okay, I was tall but I was weak and I saw that in John.
‘A lot of things happened at United. The team was weakened as a lot of players left and he became a focal point. He played right-back and centre midfield but he is a centre-back.
‘That’s okay for a 25-year-old who feels capable of doing these things but, for a young kid, I thought it was harsh. He was judged and it was just far too early for him.
‘Since he’s come to Hearts, he has improved. He is stronger and he does better defending in the box which, as you get older, you do.
‘I’ve only seen one snapped Achilles in my whole career. It’s a really unusual injury and it’s a real blow for us but his nature should help him.’
Struck down by three cruciate injuries in his career, the third of which forced him to retire, Levein can relate not only to Souttar’s plight but that of team-mate Callum Paterson, who has also been ruled out for the season.
‘Callum is another really important player at a stage in his career where he was ready to go,’ he said. ‘I feel really sorry for him. He was in a situation where he was going to get a move to a big club and a big salary.
‘I’ve spoken to them both. It’s simple for me — you have this initial period of devastation going on in your head where you ask: “Why me? Why is the world against me?”.
‘Once you get over that initial period, you need to focus. Rather than thinking it’s 10 months until I’m back playing, first focus on the operation. After that, get walking without crutches. Then the next stage.’