MONEY TALKS

Weir admires Budge’s loyalty to Levein... but fears her hand will be forced if angry fans withhold cash

FORMER Hearts great Davie Weir has applauded Ann Budge for offering her public backing to under- f i r e manager Craig Levein.

But he fears her hand may yet be forced if angry fans starve the club of funds by cancelling their monthly contributions to the Foundation of Hearts.

Weir, who believes the expected return to f i tness of Steven Naismith should give his old club the edge in Sunday’s derby at Easter Road, admires the way Budge has publicly backed the man filling both the head coach and director of football roles at Tynecastle.

‘I read about the Ann Budge statement yesterday — and I thought it was a great statement,’ said Weir.

‘Look at what Ann has done for the club. For her to say they weren’t going to react like other football clubs usually do, starting just to change manager every time there’s a problem, was great.

‘She’s made it clear theyy have a longer-term plan andd they’re going to see it through.gh.

‘Time will tell if that’sat’s the case. We’ve heardrd all these t h i n g ss before.

‘ But the way she works is very different. And it was good to hear.

‘Craig is obviously more than a manager t here. He’s beenn there a l ong timee and he’s got a lot of different aspects to what he does.

‘But, if you bring a manager in, you have to support him and back him, give him time to carry out the plan.

‘She’s not the typical owner. I think it’s refreshing.’

A large c r o wd of a ngry supporters protested outside Tynecastle f o l l o wi n g last weekend’s home defeat to Motherwell, with Levein — and the board — the clear target.

Weir, a Scottish Cup winner with the club in 1998, is surprised to see his old team at the bottom of the Premiership after a dismal start to the season.

Although he admires t he owner’s loyalty to Levein, he reckons the former Scotland boss could yet be ousted if money becomes an issue.

‘It’s quite complicated at Hearts because of the fans contributing,’ said Weir.

‘If the fans are protesting, then tt hhey s t art wiwithdrawing thetheir money, that obviously changechanges things for the ownerownership. ‘That’s what makes it more i nteresting, t he f act that she’s aware of i t, that she wants the fans to have an involvement and input in how the club’s run.

‘But, on this occasion, she’s putting her head above the parapet. And that takes guts.

‘ There are a l ot of f ans contributing a lot of money to the club every month through the foundation.

‘ If a thousand of them are protesting outside, then there are going to be ramifications from that. But she obviously believes in Craig and what he’s doing.

‘She’s party to the inside, she’s obviously brought him in — and she clearly trusts him to do what he’s going to do.

‘There will be nobody more aware of t hat t han Craig. When he stepped up from being director of football to manager, he knew that he would be in the spotlight, as all managers are.

‘There isn’t really anywhere for him to go now. He would have been well aware that, the first bad spell he had, he would be under pressure.

‘But he’ll be delighted he’s got the owner he has. The statement was great, she’s obviously been very supportive behind the scenes as well.

‘You live by the nature of your relationship with the owner. If the owner trusts you, and wants you to remain the manager, then that’s the key relationship.

‘Obviously the fans can protest and show what they think — but ultimately it’s the board or t he owner that will make the decision.

‘They’ve got the derby on Sunday and then Aberdeen in the League Cup. ‘If they win those two games then it’s forgotten, because all of a sudden they’re back in a relatively healthy position in the league and 90 minutes from a cup final.’ Former Rangers and Scotland star Weir (below) believes the imminent return of Naismith from injury could be huge for Hearts. ‘ The players, the f ans, the management will all get a big boost from him being available,’ said the 49-year- old, who played with Naismith at Rangers. ‘Steven is a big-game player. He enjoys them and will rise to t he challenge. ‘He might not be the best player in the game, but you know you will get something from him. ‘You always know that Steven will do something in the game for you. ‘At Rangers, when we were going into an Old Firm game, if Steven was in the team we were happy. It will be the same with a Hearts-Hibs game.

‘The players will look around the dressing room and think about who will help get something from the game. They will see Steven and it will give them a lift.’

Hibs boss Paul Heckingbottom is under almost as much pressure as Levein because of results and poor signings.

And Weir, who played against Heckingbottom’s Barnsley side in England, warned: ‘Whether it is a manager or a player, Scotland is very underestimated as a league in terms of what you need to do to be successful.

‘I mean the intensity of it. They come up here and maybe some of the teams don’t excite you that much.

‘But it is a very difficult league to play in and manage in — and I am sure he is finding that out.’

David Weir was speaking at the William Hill Ayr Gold Cup draw. The Gold Cup takes place on Saturday September 21 at 3.50pm.