Revitalised Levein keen to complete makeover at Stark's Park

Levein has already had his previously run-down manager’s office redecorated but as he leads the way through to the players’ gymnasium and treatment room, he cannot hide his disgust at the antiquated facilities. Stuffing spews from the padded exercise-benches in the gym and the equipment on show looks like near-rusted museum exhibits. It is all soon to be replaced as part of Levein’s all-encompassing input into the regeneration of the Scottish League second division club.

“I wouldn’t have gone to any other club in this division and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gone to any club in the first division either,” Levein, the former Leicester City and Heart of Midlothian manager, states. “That’ll tell you a little bit about how much it appealed to me. Raith Rovers were the first team I came to watch as a boy — I came along to just about every game — so I’ve got a feeling for the place and that stays with you forever, doesn’t it?

“There’s a reasonable argument for this club being a Premierleague club and there are a lot of ambitious people here who want to see that happen but aren’t really sure how to go about it. So I can assist with that by just getting involved in a little bit more than watching players and picking a team.”

It was in January that Levein was dismissed by Leicester after only 15 months in the job. He had taken over a newlyrelegated club and spent his initial year at the Walkers Stadium replacing older professionals with young ones but was not given the time to see the job through. An inexperienced board, worried by poor results in the Coca-Cola Championship, panicked and dismissed him before he could see the fruition of his work.

Taking over at Raith for his next managerial post looked like a gamble for Levein after having established a reputation as a manager at a considerably higher level. He does not quite see it that way.

“I think I can improve my reputation by doing well here,” he suggests. “It maybe sounds a bit silly but what it does show is I’m not scared to come back to the coalface, as you might call it. I think there is a chance for me to do good things here and that will enhance my reputation.”

It was in four years at Hearts, after a successful spell at Cowdenbeath, that Levein established himself as a pragmatically successful modern manager. He left for Leicester on the same day in autumn 2004 that Vladimir Romanov, the current chairman and owner, took control at Tynecastle and their paths crossed briefly, with Levein happy to sit down with Romanov and assess the Hearts playing staff for him.

“Romanov asked me to stay on as manager,” Levein says, “but I had already given my word that I was going to Leicester. His is a different culture altogether. I’ve got a level of understanding, which a lot of people don’t have, that in Europe it’s not too uncommon to have the owner picking the team, buying the players, and the coaches come and go willy-nilly.

“I think he’s been great for Hearts and Scottish football because Hearts now are a real threat, despite all the things that have happened. They’re still sitting second in the Premierleague.

“He’s probably got the right man doing the job now; the only man who understands him. Valdas (Ivanauskas) knows how he works and he’s not going to storm off after Mr Romanov has decided certain players have got to play.”

As for Levein ever returning to Tynecastle and Hearts, for whom he nurtured the spine of the current team — Craig Gordon, Steven Pressley and Paul Hartley — he says, “Never say never about anything. The only job that would be really difficult for me to take in Scotland would be the Hibs job.

“I’m only 41 and I think my best years in management are coming,“ Levein adds, and the directors of Raith Rovers would like him to spend a good chunk of that time with their club. He has no contract but their wish is that the club gets under his skin so much that he has no desire to leave.

There are signs of that already — he speaks happily of meeting people in Kirkcaldy who say they will now be coming back to watch Raith, and as he stands looking up fondly at the main stand, he talks of how Raith could attract 6,000 regularly in the Premierleague and fill their 10,000 seats for bigger games.

Today, Stark’s Park ought to be buzzing in the way Levein envisages. Marvin Andrews, the former Rangers centre-back, now returned to Raith, will be making his debut under Levein against Morton, the second division leaders, who always bring a large following. It should be an occasion to quicken the pulse, particularly of Levein in his special role as supporter-manager.

Taken from timesonline.co.uk