Levein knows all about 'new manager syndrome'

Far from it. Levein is a Fifer and from Dunfermline. He returns to his home town today determined to ensure he puts even more distance between Dunfermline and his own team in the Bank of Scotland Premierleague. Victory would put United eights points ahead in the battle to avoid relegation but Levein knows he will have to overcome an outside influence that has recently been flourishing in the Premierleague — the new manager syndrome.

Levein, of course, enjoyed the reward on his baptism as Dundee United manager a fortnight ago when his team defeated Rangers at Tannadice and also defeated Kilmarnock last week to move off the bottom of the table. John Collins has also profited from an equally bright start at Hibernian. So, will Stephen Kenny produce the same effect at Dunfermline?

The Irishman moved up the queue once Levein chose Tannadice. Kenny left Derry City last night, the club he enjoyed Uefa Cup success with this season, and even though he has not met the Dunfermline players, Levein knows that the home dressing-room could still benefit from the Irishman’s presence, whether it is in the dugout with Craig Robertson or in the directors’ box with Jim Leishman, now back as general manager after giving up the team manager’s role he held for the past 18 months.

“This game has a few factors that make it more difficult,” Levein reflected. “Dunfermline have their new manager and although we don’t know if he’s going to have an input into the running of the team this week, his presence could have an effect.”

Levein, obviously, did not want to dwell too much on the detail of events that saw him installed as favourite to become Dunfermline’s manager after Leishman called time on his own reign. Indeed, Levein spoke with Leishman about the vacancy.

Far safer ground for Levein is how Dundee United have risen to the challenge since he replaced Craig Brewster. The new manager has performed a makeover on a defence that lost 16 goals in its previous four games but has conceded just one in his two in charge, while Levein has also changed the training set-up that saw United cross the Tay Bridge into Fife every day to train at St Andrews.

“We want to get some momentum going but I’m not yet in a position to say what I’m likely to get from the players,” Levein said. “When I was at Hearts I knew my team so well that I was able to say how we would perform with a degree of certainty. It takes time to get to that stage with a team and I’m not near that yet with these players.”

Levein has distanced himself from talk that United have turned the corner in the last few weeks and is conscious of the need to temper expectation levels.

“This is my first away game and it’s also the first game people have expected us to win since I came here,” Levein said. “The wins we’ve had so far were good but not much was expected of us in those games.

“It’s going to be different this time, so there’s a new level of pressure on the players and how they react to it is going to tell me a lot about about them.

“It’s my first away game, you are looking at two teams who have been struggling and under extra pressure to get points, and then there is the matter of new managers in each camp.”

Noel Hunt, who netted last week’s winner against Kilmarnock, is going back to East End Park for the first time since his summer move to Tannadice. The Irish striker noted the change between Levein’s methods and Brewster’s.

“There is a big difference when you come into training,” Hunt said. “Training has changed and the way we think has been changed, and the players have responded well. From day one, he said ‘Look, we have lost 16 goals in four games and that just can’t happen in football.’ He took the defenders aside and has been working on it ever since.”

One of those defenders, Christian Kalvenes, appreciates Levein’s instruction. “When the new manager came in everyone started even again, so we all have to prove ourselves to him,” the Norwegian said. “The quality and tempo of training got much better straight away and we have managed to take that into matches.

“If you can up your workrate like that and continue it on a Saturday, your performance will improve and I’m expecting Dunfermline to show a similar reaction. That means it is going to be a very hard game for us but in our last two games we have shown battling qualities and if we produce them again we can make it three wins in a row.”

While Dundee United have no fitness problems, Dunfermline are again beset by serious concerns with eight players out — Roddy McKenzie, Scott Thomson, Andy Tod, Noel Whelan, Jamie McCunnie, Phil McGuire, Jim McIntyre and Mark Burchill — while Scott Wilson and Darren Young return to the squad.

“Our injury list is horrendous, if any other team had our injuries, they would be struggling, too,”Robertson, who has prepared the team, said. “This would be a bigger game if it was near the end of the season, but there is still a long way to go and I’ve a feeling the players will give a positive reaction as they know the new manager will be watching.”

Taken from timesonline.co.uk