Ann Budge insists it ‘wasn’t strange’ to ask Craig Levein to show Daniel Stendel around Hearts base

Hearts owner Ann Budge introduced Daniel Stendel as her new manager yesterday but risked angering fans by admitting that Craig Levein had played a role in his recruitment.

Daniel Stendel is unveiled as Hearts new manager at Tynecastle. Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS

Levein, who Budge ousted as manager and director of football in October, was given the task of conducting the German’s tour of the stadium and training facilities when Stendel was being considered for Tynecastle job last month. She also revealed she sought out Levein’s opinion of the former Barnsley manager.

“I don’t think that was strange,” Budge said. “When Daniel came over to be interviewed, it was on the day of the Kilmarnock game. So we did the interview on the morning and then the rest of us were heading to Kilmarnock. So 
I said to Craig, ‘can you please show Daniel around Riccarton?’

“I couldn’t think of anyone better to do that than Craig. I thought it was the obvious thing to do.

“As I have tried to convey before, yes we had to stop the situation with Craig being in charge of the team, but he is still immensely valuable to this club. He does lots of other things, and I don’t see why he can’t carry on doing that.”

With the search for the newly created role of sporting director placed on the back burner while she addressed the more pressing need for a first-team manager, Budge said it was unlikely the board will now rush the process, preferring to utilise the expertise the club has on hand in the short-term.

That will include Austin MacPhee, Levein’s former assistant, who has been in charge of the first team as interim manager since the former was dismissed.

“I’ve got Craig looking at certain parts of the operation, largely youth, but a bit more than that,” added Budge. “Austin will focus very much on recruitment and video analysis, which is very much his strength – he’s the stats man as you know. And Daniel will focus on the first-team.

“We’ve got some important decisions to make and me bringing in somebody else new to the club [as sporting director by next month]... I don’t think that’s the best way of doing it.

“So, I want to use Austin and Daniel together to try to determine what we want to do on the recruitment front, and January is all about trying to change the squad around.

“In the meanwhile, in the background, I’ll be going through CVs and talking to people. But I’m not desperate to get somebody in the door tomorrow.”

MacPhee had been credited with an interest in both the manager and sporting director roles as he oversaw the first team for six matches.

Asked if he had expressed a desire in the new sporting director position, Budge said: “Potentially, yes. But, again, I think the key thing is we have to define exactly what that role is. The way it is in my head, he’ll be doing part of that role. Will he be the right person to do the whole role? We’ll see.

“Austin and Craig are both under contract until the end of this season. If I find somebody else we have to sit down and talk.”

But, in the meantime, work will carry on behind the scenes to find the money and the players needed to reshape the squad to suit new manager Stendel’s tactical demands as he tries to engineer a move up the league table. Hearts are currently joint bottom.

“I’ve never failed to find the funds up until now,” said the majority shareholder. “But, that said, we’ve never had such a big squad. I’ve had this conversation with Daniel but, if he comes to me in January and says ‘I really must have whatever’, as long as he has told me ‘we really don’t need these 
people’ then we’ll be okay.

“But I’m not just adding to the squad we’ve got. It’s got to be a case of who is going to work and who isn’t going to work under the new style of play.”