Levein: I’ll go once Hearts are back in the top four
CRAIG LEVEIN last night insisted that he only wants to step down as manager after he has re-established Hearts in the top four of the Premiership.
Levein goes into today’s Edinburgh derby at Easter Road under intense scrutiny and pressure following a miserable start to the season that has left the Tynecastle side bottom of the table after five games.
Last weekend’s defeat to Motherwell was followed by an angry demonstration by a section of the club’s fans, who gathered outside Tynecastle to call for Levein to go.
With just two wins in the last 19 Premiership fixtures, Hearts’ poor run of form stretches back deep into last season.
Adamant that he is not of a mind to resign, Levein insists that it has always been his intention to walk away only when he had stabilised the club in the top
echelons of the league table. He said: ‘My reason for coming back in to the job was to try to get everything calm and moving forward again.
‘I wanted to get us into the top four of the table on a regular basis. And I would have considered what to do after that. But the thing is we’ve not managed to do that yet. So I’ve still got some work to do.
‘I know why I came back. I felt, at the time, we were under a wee bit of pressure and I just wanted to get the club back on a solid footing. And I still believe that is perfectly possible.’
Levein denies that his dual role as manager and director of football of Hearts is creating a conflict of interest over his future at the club.
Club chair Ann Budge moved to address the unrest in a club statement in midweek, stating her support for Levein, while emphasising that he was not ‘untouchable’ or ‘all-powerful’.
Levein returned to the dugout at the start of the 2017-18 season in place of Ian Cathro but retained his seat on the Tynecastle board.
‘I was a director and the manager at Dundee United, so this is the same thing,’ he said. ‘I managed to cope with that okay.
‘It’s not a normal situation, of course. My reason for taking the manager’s job was to try to settle things down. That’s still my aim.
‘The fact that I’m director of football as well is an unusual situation. Because I’m involved in two roles both my heads are on the block.
‘That doesn’t happen normally but I’m not uncomfortable with the situation.
‘I wouldn’t say that’s a huge issue. Over the last couple of years, I’ve managed to delegate a little bit and got other people to take on bits and pieces to help me at times.
‘There are occasions when I am doing director of football things and times when I am doing managerial things. They are quite different.
‘On matchdays, I am the manager and I deal with those situations. For other stuff — signing players, taking in youth matches, meeting parents of prospective academy players — I am a director of football. The two don’t really cross over. I feel comfortable with it.
‘For me, it’s very simple — we just need to win some football matches and get back on an even keel. I’m confident that the squad here is good enough to climb the table.’
While Budge argued in the statement that Levein’s position on the board actually made him more accountable to the hierarchy, the issue of how Levein could make a cold judgment on his own performances remains moot.
‘There’s a logic involved in everything,’ added Levein. ‘As the manager at this minute in time, my view is that we are not that far away from getting things right.
‘As such, I want to follow what I believe and get a result this weekend and then get a result against Aberdeen.
‘I understand that supporters are disgruntled generally as we’re not winning, particularly at home.
‘We’ve had three matches and not won any of them. Yes, I understand that completely. But I don’t think the vast majority of people are losing the plot at all. You’re seeing an extreme element (of fans).
‘But I get that people are unhappy. My job is to fix that.’
Meanwhile, Foundation of Hearts chairman Stuart Wallace has urged supporters not to lose focus in their bid to achieve supporter ownership amid a woeful run of form on the park.
The 8,000-strong fans’ group are on course to buy-out owner Budge’s 75.1 per cent shareholding next year having already ploughed £9million into the club.
However, some fans have threatened to cancel their monthly pledge to the FoH in protest over Budge continuing to show faith in embattled Levein.
Wallace insists fans turning their back on the Foundation could be damaging Hearts.
‘What we should remember is that talk of cancelling pledges is not only potentially harmful to our club, but also plays right into the hands of those rivals who want us to fail,’ he said.
‘Times may be tough, but the Foundation continues to move forward towards fan ownership.
‘We’re in the process of paying back the Bidco loan. We expect to have made our final payment toward the loan within the next year and, upon doing so, we will acquire a majority share in the club.’