It’s fair enough to say that Craig Levein’s time at Hearts should have ended a long time ago. His teams were horrific to watch and results on the pitch were dreadful, but that doesn’t give fans free reign to act how they like.
In a way the timing of the sacking probably does give Hearts their best chance to set up a possible Betfred Cup final with Celtic. We’ve seen that the Rangers always bottle the big occasion so the “new manager bounce” might come at the ideal time.
Obviously Neil Lennon has a lot of experience with the Hearts fans from his spells in charge with Celtic and Hibs. They might not get as much attention as some fans from Glasgow, but they have gone under the radar as pretty unlikable for a while now.
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A recent report in The National carried some comments from Lenny about the whole situation and he’s clearly sticking up for his fellow manager in this case. He said:
“It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth the way some people have behaved towards him considering what he’s given to the club, I think he deserves a certain amount of respect.”
He went on to add: “The graffiti on Foundation Plaza was appalling. I know from my own experience that they like a bit of graffiti around the place. It’s a sign of the times. I think it’s really tacky. I think some of the punditry aimed at Craig has been personal and I think that’s unprofessional. I hope he comes again.”
He was referring to some graffiti that emerged with the words “Levein out” after the midweek loss to St Johnstone which sent the Jambos joint bottom of the league.
It seems pretty clear that in the age of social media, some fans feel comfortable saying what they like hidden behind a keyboard without any consequence.
It’s not really clear what it will take to actually change things, but clearly Lenny feels that Levein deserved better even if the results weren’t up to standard.
