The mending of broken Hearts: how Budge, Levein, and Neilson have led a Tynecastle revolution

Budge is the personification of the old adage of never judging a book by its cover. Beneath the soft voice and smiling demeanour, there lies an iron will and a steely determination. After all, you do not enjoy the level of success she has had in business without taking unpopular decisions and being ruthless if the occasion requires it.

And so, just three days after concluding her takeover, Budge took decisive action on her first morning in charge. There would be no contemplative chin-stroking or consultation periods. This was revolution at lightning speed. After the wanton destruction of the club during the Romanov era and the long, drawn-out process that was administration, Budge knew time would be of the essence. Out, then, on the first day went manager Gary Locke and his backroom team, and a raft of first-team players. In came Craig Levein as director of football and Robbie Neilson as the new head coach. It was a breathtaking move, one that Budge admitted would be unpopular. But Hearts, she felt, were "broken". These were the steps necessary to start to put the pieces back together.

Since that seismic first day, Budge has hardly put a foot wrong. Hers is only a temporary stewardship of the club - the Foundation of Hearts will take over within five years once they have repaid her £2.5m investment plus interest - but she has steered the ship with impressive precision. She has, by and large, given free rein to Levein and Neilson to handle the football side of things, while she gets on with rebuilding the business. She has been outspoken when she has felt the need to be - condemning both Hearts and Celtic fans for their behaviour at a Scottish Cup tie - and shown a social conscience as well by making Hearts the first senior club in Britain to pay the living wage.

Getting the most out of a restrictive budget has perhaps been her greatest strength. "The main thing I remember is that she had an extremely tight control of costs," said a former co-worker from one of Budge's previous businesses. "If anyone ever was an advocate of "look after the pennies and the pounds look after themselves" it's her. I remember it being a bit extreme but that's the way she ran things. She was exactly what Hearts needed; a no-nonsense operator, who would control costs and wasn't afraid to take difficult decisions."

Those who will eventually take over from Budge have been impressed. Ian Murray MP sits on the Tynecastle board as the Foundation's representative and has seen at close quarters the work that has been achieved. Emerging from administration gave the new owners a clean sheet to work with, but starting effectively from scratch presented its own difficulties. The infrastructure at Hearts had barely been touched for three years. Facilities needed vastly overhauled. Some hospitality suites were run down. A staff structure, ravaged by administration, needed to be restored to more workable levels. Budge has, bit by bit, begun the rebuilding job.

"If you look back 12 months when the administrators in Lithuania decided to accept a deal, I don't think in our wildest dreams we would have thought we would be on the verge of winning a championship so early," said Murray. "Some of that has been luck but mostly it has been through Ann's guidance and the way she's been able to give the people their club back. There wasn't much time to get things turned around but Ann had a strong view of what she wanted to achieve at the club. What has happened is down to the very diligent, sensible and experienced steps she's taken to transform the club from top to bottom."

Hearts could be confirmed as champions as early as this weekend, and key to their on-field success has been the dynamic between Levein and Neilson. The director of football/head coach structure has not always been effective in British football but the personalities at Hearts have made it work. Levein has bounced back from the difficulties endured in the latter stages of his time as Scotland manager, taking on the task of overhauling the entire football department from top to bottom. Neilson, in his first frontline coaching post, has also shown impressive tactical nous and will shortly complete his UEFA Pro License badge.

"Craig has been terrific in that position and he's learned from being a manager previously himself," said Steven Pressley, the one-time Hearts captain who played for Levein and alongside Neilson. "He understands what a manager requires in that role and I think that's very important. There is a real trust there at Hearts. The relationship between Robbie and Craig has, by all accounts, got stronger in recent months because there's a great transparency and understanding. Robbie knows what is expected of him and that makes his job easier."

Player recruitment has also played a significant role in Hearts' success. Freed from the shackles of the transfer embargo that had hindered the club in administration, Levein and Neilson have cast their net far and wide to find the players they wanted. Some were familiar faces like Prince Buaben and Morgaro Gomis who played for Levein at Dundee United, while others like Alim Ozturk and Osman Sow were new to a Scottish audience. Looking through the list of those signed since last summer, it is difficult to find one that hasn't worked out.

"The most important part of any club is player recruitment," added Pressley. "A good manager without the players will not get results. Craig has taken that responsibility on, although Robbie will have the final say. And they also have John Murray who is a very good scout with a great eye for a player. They have invested in this area as they know how important it is and they are getting the rewards for that."

"The [planning for] recruitment of players went on for a long time before Ann took control of the club," added Gary Mackay, the former Hearts player now a football agent. "So there were foundations in place long before Craig and Robbie were unveiled and that has been a big help. What Craig has done has utilised really well the contacts he's built up throughout his management career."

This should only be the beginning for Hearts. Steadily restoring the club piece by piece behind the scenes, there will be an expectation on them to be challenging at the top end of the Premiership next season. "I hope we have space in the stadium for two title flags," laughed Murray. "More seriously, the club has had a good season but the rebuilding has only just begun. It has to be done carefully and methodically without people getting too carried away. But this has been a very good start."