Tynecastle turnaround a ‘miracle’ says Levein

HEARTS boss Craig Levein today hailed a Tynecastle "miracle" as he prepared for another year of cash uncertainty.

Sky are ready to pull the plug on Scottish football in a move which could cost clubs £45m. Reports claim they don’t intend to renew their four-year broadcasting deal with the SPL, which expires at the end of the season.

And that would be a severe blow to cash-strapped Hearts - and many clubs like them.

The Gorgie outfit accumulated losses of £3.8m in their last financial year, forcing new boss Levein to rebuild a squad on a shoestring.

Despite slashing the wage bill and bringing in young players from the lower leagues, Levein today revealed he must sell before he buys.

But, in a remarkably straight-talking response, the manager said he remained confident of success. He said: "I think about the wage bill last year and the wage bill now and it’s incredible the difference. We’re in the same league position, we’re on a decent run and we’ve got a far younger squad. I think it’s miraculous where we are now.

"But I know it doesn’t work that way. People expect Hearts to be a team in the top three or four in the league. If you do well, people expect you to do better." That Hearts have managed to turn things round from the early days of Levein’s reign, when many observers feared the worst, is a tribute to the manager.

Knowing the constraints he would be under when he accepted the job, he has never publicly complained about the financial plight.

"I’m fully aware that there is no money being held back," he added. "I know what the income and the expenditure is and I know there are no rabbits going to be pulled out of the hat."

Five Hearts players - Stevie Fulton, Thomas Flögel, Robert Tomaschek, Stephane Adam and Thomas Grönlund - are all out of contract at the end of the season, while Levein is now in a position to open pre-contract talks with potential Bosman signings.

"There are problems because the budgets for next season are not as simple as they appeared three or four months ago," added the manager. "It doesn’t look as if the television deal is going to be sorted out very quickly and that has a huge bearing on what our wage bill is going to be.

"I’d love to keep every player we’ve got and bring the squad up to 24, but I don't have the luxury of being able to do that. I have to lose players before I can bring anyone in.

"It wouldn’t be right of me to talk about who’s staying and who’s going at this time. I have an idea but that idea isn’t fixed.

"It looks like I’ll be given two figures to work on. One with the TV money, and one without."

Levein added: "I’ve been looking at players for next year and I have targets in mind but if things don’t work out financially, then I can’t bring in the No.1 targets."

Taken from the Scotsman