CRAIG LEVEIN has warned Steve Clarke that the Scotland job is not the dream role he might imagine as he outlined the pitfalls of life in the Hampden hotseat.
The Kilmarnock manager has worked miracles at Rugby Park during his 18 months at the helm, transforming his hometown club from relegation candidates to the cusp of European football for the first time in 18 years.
His achievements in Ayrshire have put him front of the queue to succeed Alex McLeish and arguably made him the peoples’ choice.
But Levein, who endured a largely unsuccessful three years in charge of the national side before leaving the post in November 2012, has offered an insight into the challenges and frustrations of the high-profile vacancy.
As a passionate coach – much like Kilmarnock counterpart Clarke – he found the lack of time to work with players a constant irritation while the travelling back and forth to England to watch games took its toll physically.
READ MORE: Slaven Bilic a perfect fit for Celtic manager's job, says old boy Marc Rieper
Allied with the suffocating pressure, Levein noted ‘the job is not what you think it is’, hinting that Clarke should consider his options very carefully if the Scottish FA come calling.
He said: “It doesn’t bring the same things that day-to-day that football management does, which is that constant involvement with players and keeping your mind active on who you are playing next.
“With the Scotland job there are long periods of inactivity which I spent going down to England looking at clubs and watching games... and stopping at McDonald’s, putting two stone on!
“It’s just not what you think it is. It’s a football management job, but it’s not the same.
"If you crave that day-to-day involvement then it’s a hell of a frustrating job – forgetting about all the other stuff you deal with!
"I’m not saying someone couldn’t do it successfully, I’m saying there are huge differences.
“I’d be interested to hear the thoughts of other people who have done the job. But that was my biggest frustration.
Levein even admitted he enjoyed his maiden managerial role at Cowdenbeath more than his time with the national side, conceding that his tenure with Scotland is the only time being involved in the sport he loves has ever felt like work.
He continued: “I have been lucky enough to be involved with football in roles where it doesn’t seem like I am going to my work. But the Scotland job isn’t that.
“The feeling wasn’t the same as I had at Dundee United or at Leicester, Hearts or even at Cowdenbeath. The latter was part-time but I was still there most days and involved in preparing for games and working with players.
"For someone who craves that level of activity Scotland is not the right job.”
While unsure whether Scotland would be the ideal fit for a training-ground general such as Clarke, Levein has nothing but admiration for his feats with Killie ahead of the meeting between the sides in Gorgie tomorrow.
He revealed that he has voted for the 55-year-old to be named PFA Scotland Manager of the Year, albeit Levein admits Clarke was neck-and-neck with former Celtic gaffer Brendan Rodgers before he jumped ship to Leicester City.
Levein continued: “Steve’s a really nice guy as well as a good coach. I have a lot of time for him and he’s done a great job. I put him down as my Manager of the Year.
“I think if Brendan [Rodgers] had stayed and won the league again, he might have challenged him.
READ MORE: Hibs to go all out for a win against Rangers, says boss Paul Heckingbottom
“But Steve has worked wonders with a very similar group of players. It’s a similar team to what it was before.
"They’re very well organised and they have players who suit their style of play. We played them earlier in the season and did really well. We were just done on the counter attack.
“That’s the danger – getting frustrated, over-committing and pushing more bodies forward. We have to be wary of playing exactly the way they want us to play."
Meanwhile, Levein insists Hearts are well on course to have half of their starting eleven made up of homegrown talent as he hailed the progress made by their academy since it was rebuilt from the ashes of administration in 2014.
Harry Cochrane and Connor Smith shone in last weekend’s Edinburgh derby draw against Hibs, Anthony McDonald – on loan at Inverness – is expected to have a massive future at the club, while Jamie Brandon, Andy Irving, Euan Henderson and Lewis Moore have all featured at senior level.
Levein added: “Developing young players and giving them the opportunity to play is a massive passion of mine. The exciting thing for me is that we are starting to see some of the rewards from the work that has been done with the academy.
"We have seen the evidence when Harry [Cochrane] and Anthony [McDonald] have played and, although he has only played at the weekend, in Connor [Smith].
“The idea is to get four of five into the first team to make up nearly half of the starting 11 – and we are getting there.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel