Wind-up merchant is having last laugh
MICHAEL SMITH has enjoyed devouring newspapers in recent weeks to read Craig Levein’s latest attempts at winding up rivals like Neil Lennon and Scott Brown.
But what the Hearts defender has particularly loved about his manager’s second coming at Tynecastle is the thought of Levein’s many critics now eating their words.
There was a chorus of disapproval when the then Gorgie director of football took over for a second spell in the dugout after the summer dismissal of Ian Cathro.
Levein’s detractors believed it was a retrograde step, and one doomed to failure given he hadn’t worked as a manager since being sacked as Scotland boss in 2012.
But with Hearts suffering just one defeat in their last 15 matches, Smith is delighted that Levein is now having the last laugh.
‘The gaffer has been brilliant since he came in,’ said the Northern Ireland international.
‘I think a few people were humming and hawing about his appointment — but they’re eating their words now.
‘The manager is experienced and he is trying to wind a few people up in the press at the moment.
‘But he’s one of the good guys and it’s just a bit of fun. You can’t be too serious all the time.
‘If people take it out of context, then that’s their fault — but I think it’s brilliant.
‘He has our backs. Hearts is his club and he wants us to do well. That’s the reason he does what he does.’
Smith, 29, has been impressed by the way Levein and his assistant Austin MacPhee leave no stone unturned before matches.
‘The manager is very good tactically,’ said Smith. ‘He knows how he wants to beat individual teams and it’s coming to fruition.
‘We don’t set up in just one way. We chop and change formations and players to see if we can win the game — and that’s working.
‘We are beating teams the way he wants. The manager and Austin do a lot of work behind the scenes. As players, we don’t see that sort of thing but they show us exactly what they want us to do on a Thursday or a Friday, and it’s working.’
The current mood at Hearts couldn’t be further removed from the widespread anger that swept across Tynecastle when Cathro’s side crashed out of the Betfred Cup in July.
Back then, a loss at League Two Peterhead and a home defeat on penalties to Championship side Dunfermline meant the team failed to progress beyond the group stage.
Fast forward six months from that shambles and Smith believes Levein has assembled a squad capable of winning the Scottish Cup and perhaps even finishing third in the Premiership.
‘It’s a different club to the one I joined last summer,’ said the former Peterborough and Bristol Rovers defender.
‘We are on a great run at the minute. We are in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals and things are going well.
‘I want to be up there challenging in the top three or four in the league and getting to cup finals. Hopefully, we can still achieve that.
‘Can we finish in the top three or four and win the Scottish Cup? I don’t see why not. If we keep this run going and some teams above us drop points here and there, then we have every chance.
‘It’s a great dressing room to be around. The boys who came in during the January transfer window have knitted in well, so it’s all good.’
Smith hopes Hearts can continue their impressive recent form in today’s lunchtime kick-off away to bottom club Ross County, who look to have regained their battling spirit following their 4-1 thrashing of Dundee at Dens Park a fortnight ago.
And he is already dreaming of Europa League football if Levein’s men are able to maintain their current hot streak.
‘Ross County will be tough, one of the hardest games we have had recently,’ added Smith.
‘They are scrapping for their lives and their manager (Owen Coyle) will have them up for it. We have to go up there and do a professional job.
‘It would be fantastic to get European nights back at Tynecastle. That’s what attracted me to come here.
‘Speaking to Austin MacPhee last summer, he said we had a great chance of achieving that and I think we really do now.
‘They say that a good team is built on defence and we have been looking pretty good at the back.
‘We are also starting to score a few more goals, so it’s all looking bright. Against St Johnstone last week, we scored three decent goals.
‘Hearts are a massive club and all of us here want to push up the league table.’