Craig Levein assured by SFA he'll be judged on results only

Published on Wednesday 23 December 2009 22:04

WHEN Gordon Smith arrived at an Edinburgh hotel on Monday afternoon to meet Craig Levein, he was braced for a barrage of demands from the man he and his fellow SFA office bearers had decided should be the new Scotland manager.

Levein's publicly-expressed concerns about the full extent of his remit in the role had been accompanied by reports that he would expect wide-ranging powers to effect something of a revolution at the SFA from the grass roots upwards.

But as he formally welcomed Levein as George Burley's successor at Hampden just after 6pm last night, SFA chief executive Smith was able to tell a different and very familiar story.

For while the former Cowdenbeath, Hearts, Leicester City and Dundee United manager's views on youth development will be welcomed by Smith and his colleagues, his success as Scotland's national team coach will be assessed by the same criteria as all of his predecessors.

"People were saying we were going to get a shock when we spoke to him because he was going to want to run the show," said Smith. "It was nothing like that at all.

"One thing he wanted to know was whether he would be allowed to have a say. I made it clear, as did all of the office bearers, in our meetings that his input and ideas would be very welcome.

"Craig is a smart guy and he will know that if he has ideas, we will see how those ideas fit in and how they could be adopted. I'm delighted he sees himself as an international team manager who also considers the development of the Scottish game.

"But that's two-fold. You do realise that the problem in management a lot of the time is that a manager has an interest in youth development but realises his job is short term.

"Most of the time they just concentrate on the first team and leave someone else to do the youths. Craig wants to get involved in the development of the game even beyond his legacy as manager.

"But qualifying for major tournaments is the main aspect and he knows that. We have to make it very clear that his number one remit is the international team. Why does any football manager concentrate on first-team results? Because his job ultimately depends on it. His job is the international team and he has to concentrate on that. He will, he made that very clear."

While Levein's views on other matters will be valued, Smith made it clear yesterday that he feels the SFA's existing strategies for youth development are of a high standard.

"Craig is coming in with ideas and that's fine," he added. "In this organisation, I believe in giving people a say in terms of what they feel are good ways to deal with different matters.

"What we are doing in terms of youth development at the moment is very good. Jim Fleeting, who heads that department, has listened to things I've had to say and I have changed things already. Jim and his department are open to opinion. Isn't that the way forward?

"In terms of developing young players, let's look for better practice and what we would deem to be best practice. That comes from getting ideas from people you sit down and listen to. So I'm very open to Craig saying he has got ideas on how he wants to do things. Great, let's listen and see where we can implement them to try and improve the game.

"I'm happy to get his ideas. I've done that will the staff in all of my departments here, so that everyone realises they have a role within the SFA. It's a team game."

The notion of Smith and Levein ever becoming team-mates had been dismissed by many in the past. In the Scottish football village, rumours of a fractious relationship between the pair were common currency, even extending to Smith's alleged unhappiness at the way his son Grant had been released by Levein at Dundee United.

Smith has been on the receiving end of his fair share of Levein broadsides, blaming the chief executive and president George Peat for poor scheduling of Scotland's fixtures in the recent World Cup qualifying campaign, and on another occasion accusing Smith of stumbling from one blunder to another.

"I even heard people say Craig Levein would never get the Scotland job because I was working here," said Smith. "So the perception that there was a problem between us has been proved to be totally wrong. I don't really have to say much more than that, the evidence is there now.

"I've worked on it, tried to get him into the job and now he has been appointed. He was always the number one candidate as far as I was concerned.

"The office bearers sat down and had a discussion about it, we all had a viewpoint, and he was very much the top candidate. I made it very clear I had no problems with anyone in the game. Some people just didn't believe me, but I think I have been proved to be 100 per cent correct.

"You can have differences of opinion with people without falling out with them. You can be critical of people, I've seen it myself in my playing career. You fall out with your team-mates from time to time, but you always put it behind you. There is no question of that. You just get on with it.

"I have values in life. I don't hold grudges. I would never set out to make sure someone didn't succeed because, allegedly, I didn't get on with them. I think that is all put behind us today and we can forget it. People were saying things about my character I couldn't really answer. If Craig hadn't got the job, people would still have gone down the line of saying 'that's why'.

"Regardless of what people have said, I feel we have now proved it to be wrong."

Smith is not concerned by the new Scotland manager's oft-stated desire to return to English football one day in order to make up for his disappointing spell in charge of Leicester City which ended in dismissal after guiding his team to 20 victories in 72 games, a win percentage of just 28.7 per cent.

"It is very difficult for a manager to turn down a move to English football if they get a good offer," said Smith. "We realise that. The financial aspects are huge down there. It is one of those things we will have to deal with if it comes along.

"When George Burley got the job, I was asked if I was afraid he would be tempted back to England.

"I said 'no' for two reasons. First of all, because we would get money out of it (in compensation) and, more importantly, if he was enticed it would be because he was doing well for Scotland. So you can gain from it if your manager is taken away."

FULL–TIME SCOUT TO BE HIRED

ALTHOUGH Craig Levein has accepted that there is no full-time post to offer Peter Houston, his long-term assistant, he has sought assurances that he can employ the services of a full-time scout for the national team, writes Alan Pattullo.

He feels the role is a vital one as he attempts to "to take every step necessary" towards the aim of seeing Scotland qualify for another major finals for the first time since the 1998 World Cup. He hopes Houston will join him in the run-up to matches while a scout will assist Levein on a more regular basis. Levein said he already had "a few names in mind" for the position.

"What we have established is that there is a place for a full-time scout," he said. "We might get Slovakia in the next draw, and if the top two teams in Slovakia are playing there might be five or six internationalists on show, and so that person will be at the game. It is just about gathering as much data as possible."

Levein also said he aims to telephone every club in the top two tiers in England in order to ascertain whether any player, including those in the youth teams, "had a Scottish grandfather".