Levein offers strong show of belief for his Tannadice task

Eddie Thompson, the chairman, admitted that part of Levein’s appeal was that he once gave European football to Heart of Midlothian while radically cutting the wage bill, and the £6.8 million debt at Tannadice run up by the four men who enjoyed Thompson’s patronage before being sacked by the millionaire means that a new, frugal era is in place at Dundee United.

Levein was given a 2½-year contract after being confirmed as the successor to Craig Brewster, who left the club by mutual consent on Sunday after a 5-1 defeat away to Falkirk condemned United to the bottom of the table. That in itself is meaningless because Alex Smith, Ian McCall, Gordon Chisholm and Brewster never got to see out their deals.

However, the Dundee United owner feels that Levein is different. The 42-year-old has been in demand, with Dunfermline Athletic initially approaching him last week to succeed Jim Leishman. As The Times reported on Friday, though, Dundee United were ready to hijack that bid.

Levein has been working at Raith Rovers, in the Scottish second division, without a contract since September. He was sacked by Leicester City in January but his work at the Coca-Cola Championship club, where he also reduced a wildly inflated wage bill and knocked Tottenham Hotspur out of the FA Cup, was not without merit.

Levein introduced several youth players to the first team at the Walkers Stadium and an equally flourishing development system at Tannadice could be plundered by the new manager. “I have some experience of managing change at clubs and I’d like to assure Dundee United fans that, based on my previous experiences and my initial impressions, this is not a club in crisis,” Levein said yesterday.

“The infrastructure is sound, the budget is reasonable, there is a determination to succeed and the playing squad is better than the league position suggests. There is a lot of hard work ahead, but with the support of everyone with the club’s best interests at heart, I am confident for the future.”

Thompson revealed that he had spoken to Chris Robinson, the former chief executive of Hearts, who handed Levein a similar task in 2000 when he replaced Jim Jefferies as manager at Tynecastle and was ordered to cut costs.

“Chris spoke very favourably of Craig,” Thompson said. “He had the qualities we were looking for and showed that by reducing the wage bill at Tynecastle while pushing Hearts up the Premierleague. I think Craig has all the ingredients that Dundee United require.

“He has had considerable experience in the top level of the game in Scotland. He took Hearts to third place on two occasions in the Premierleague and reached the Uefa Cup twice, the second time progressing to the group stages.”

While Hearts are regarded as the biggest force outside of Celtic and Rangers, Levein is embracing a club who have a more recent illustrious history. Dundee United were champions in 1983 and reached the Uefa Cup final in 1987.

“I’m delighted to join Dundee United and I’m confident that I can help the club climb up the league,” he said. “I wouldn’t have considered coming to Tannadice if there wasn’t a desire to succeed within the club.”

Levein will have some cash to spend to bolster the squad. “There is money available if I feel I need it in January,” he said. “That’s a few months away yet, so I’m not even thinking about that at this stage. The players who are here are the main priority.

“I need to look at them and judge everyone on their own merits. After that I will start to look at the areas I want to improve. My first job is to lift the players I’m going to be working with and get them focused on their jobs. There is a lack of confidence here, so I need to address that. Confidence comes about through working hard, understanding your role in the team and carrying it out.”

Levein also sought to play down expectations. “It would be good for Scottish football to have a strong Dundee United,” he said. “It’s great for the game to have the likes of Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibernian and Dundee United all doing well, but perhaps the expectation level here has been too high in recent years.

“I wish to put on record my thanks to Raith Rovers over the last few weeks but, when Mr Thompson spoke with me about this job, I felt I had to take the opportunity to come here. I fully appreciate the scale of the task before me and I am under no illusions that there will be an easy quick fix. However, I would not have taken the job if I did not believe I could make a difference.”

Thompson acknowledged that he could give Brewster no more time after only two wins in 28 league games. “I felt it was in the best interests of the club to move swiftly and appoint an experienced manager without undue delay,” the chairman said.

“Craig Levein has a proven track record and an excellent reputation for man-management. He also has extensive contacts in England and abroad and these will be important as we look to strengthen the squad in the next transfer window.”

Levein’s first match in charge will be on Sunday at home to Rangers.

Taken from timesonline.co.uk