Still volcanic - Levein looks for an explosive end to Hearts’ season
Craig Levein knows there is a balance to be struck between demonstrative rage and placid calm on the touchline.
One day, the Hearts manager may even find it.
To muddy matters further, Levein believes supporters in Scotland demand a degree of passion on the touchline to evidence a boss’s commitment to the cause. Despite the fact it can cause focus to waver.
It is a delicate balancing act between fire and ice, and a timely issue to consider as he prepares to cross swords with Dundee this afternoon.
The Dark Blues are managed by his former Hearts team-mate Neil Mccann – who has proved a feisty addition to the coaching ranks of the SPFL since swapping the TV studio for the training ground.
Mccann will be banished to the stands at Dens Park this afternoon, after receiving a two-match ban for raising his hands towards St Johnstone goalkeeper Zander Clark, who was hit with the same suspension for his part in the aftermath of Dundee’s 4-0 Tayside derby day defeat at Dens.
“Scotland is a funny place to manage because people want to see you going mental on the touchline,” Levein smiled.
“Which is a bit bizarre, but it shows people you care.
“Sometimes, though, when you are as wound up as that, you lose a bit of focus. “So it is a fine line that has to be walked. “I’m not saying in any way, shape or form, that I have that balance right.
“You are expected to show that it matters to you that the team is winning or losing.
“Some fans thought I wasn’t as demonstrative when I came back as manager.
“But it all depends on what the score is! “It is as simple as that. The score usually dictates the way the fans feel about your performance as a manager on that day.
“I don’t think you ever really mellow. It just tends to take a little longer for the volcano to erupt than it used to.
Mccann certainly has his volcanic moments, with his clash with Clark just the latest – and most extreme – example of a young boss who pulls no punches, whether slamming Anthony Stokes for a low punch on Jack Hendry or labelling his players “a joke” for losing at Hearts.
Levein, however, has nothing but admiration for an individual who took his driven, winners’ mentality into the dugout
He continued: “I think the very nature of what you have been or are as a footballer means that you are competitive.
“It is drummed into you throughout your career that getting beat is a terrible thing, so it is no wonder that guys who go from being players to managers still have that competitive nature.
“I would go even further and say that if you have not got it, you are wasting your time.” Levein hopes a triumph on Tayside today will spark a successful end to what has been a tumultuous campaign – on and off the pitch – with a top-six place now the absolute minimum expected from the Jambos. Owner Ann Budge has also expressed her disappointment.
But Levein is adamant that comes as no surprise to him, and refuses to make excuses for a season which began with aspirations to secure a return to European football.
Levein added: “That is the same conversation that her and I have. You can have disappointing seasons, that can happen.
“We have had a few things go against us, difficulties in playing away from home and the momentum gathering was difficult. “But, ultimately, when you look back through seasons at where you finish in the league, that is what you are judged on.
“There is no asterisk saying, ‘By the way, there were a lot of injuries, we had to play away from home’.
“So, whatever our league position is – that is how we performed.
“It doesn’t matter whether that was a true reflection of everything.”