AS Hearts prepare to draw a welcome line under a season defined by trials and tribulations, both on and off the field, manager Craig Levein admits it has been his most challenging campaign in the Tynecastle dugout.
The tone for a tumultuous term was set on August 1, four days before the opening game of the Premiership season, when Ian Cathro was dismissed following a dismal eight-month reign, culminating in an exit at the group stage of the Betfred Cup.
Nine of their 11 matches were then on the road due to the redevelopment of Tynecastle before four “home” fixtures at Murrayfield.
Levein was deemed the right man to replace Cathro, despite external interviews, and attempted to put his own stamp on the side with another transfer window of upheaval in January, all on a budget, due to the £15 million spent on the redevelopment of Tynecastle.
“My hardest season as Hearts manager? By far,” he said. “It is a perfect storm and without doubt the toughest I have had. There have been so many additional challenges rather than just the normal stuff. There have just been so many things. This is not a normal season in any way, shape or form.
“We changed the coach at the beginning and we were getting a new stadium built. It is remarkable that we have been able to spend that amount of money on a beautiful new stand to give us the foundation for the years ahead, but it’s where we have spent a lot of the money and that has made things difficult.
“We played so many games in a row away from home without getting the confidence that you get from home matches and we have had nine players who have had serious injuries which is unheard of.”
While there are mitigating circumstances, Levein is the first to accept that results have not been good enough as having begun the season with dreams of Europe, Hearts have had to settle for a sixth-place finish.
It has not gone unnoticed by owner Ann Budge, either.
“Of course Ann [Budge] applies pressure,” Levein said. “I had a board meeting on Thursday and we talked through this season and talked about next season. However, there is nobody who puts more pressure on me than me.”
Work is already under way to ensure an upturn in fortunes next season, with St Johnstone striker Steven MacLean and Cambridge United’s Uche Ikpeazu signing on. At least another eight new faces are expected.
However, as with most things in Gorgie of late, it will not be easy, with their £16 million expenditure on building a new main stand and this summer’s installation of a new hybrid pitch ensuring the rebuilding of the squad will be done on a budget.
“The frustrating thing is that once the stand is finished, and it is making us money, then we can increase what we do on the field,” Levein said. “But we have to get to that point. This season, and probably part of next season, will be tough. That is the reality of the situation and I have to be clever in the transfer market and bring in players who are good value for money.
“I just want to get as many good players as I can. I want speed in the team, creativity. We have struggled to create and score goals this year so I need to do something about that.”
One afternoon which did see Hearts show a glimpse of the speed and
creativity Levein seeks was their 4-0 triumph over Celtic in December which ended the champions’ historic 69-game unbeaten run on their last visit to Tynecastle.
That was just one chapter in a fascinating season of exchanges between Levein and Parkhead boss Brendan Rodgers, including the Northern Irishman questioning the decision to field 16-year-old Harry Cochrane when the sides next met in Glasgow and the teenager suffered a back injury at the hands of Scott Brown.
Rodgers then took umbrage at Levein suggesting Brown had deliberately been booked in a fixture against Kilmarnock so he would be available for an Old Firm fixture.
As with most pantomime quarrels in the SPFL, however, it will end in a warm handshake this afternoon.
“Brendan is a decent fella. You have your little spats and little fall-outs but very rarely are they big enough to spoil any common bond or empathy that you have for the person in the other dugout,” Levein said. “Because until you have done it – stood there and taken the flak – then you don’t know what it is like.”
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