Hearts youth academy recovering from the Vlad old days

Hearts Director of Football Craig Levein admits the club’s plan to return to the top of the Scottish game hinges on the Academy churning out a steady stream of exciting youngsters.

The former Scotland manager revealed his vision for the future when he addressed supporters at the Foundation of Hearts’ inaugural AGM on Thursday.

The Tynecastle outfit only emerged from a fraught year-long spell in administration in June after new owner Ann Budge, and fans group the Foundation pooled their finances.

Budge has said the business is reliant on the Foundation’s continued financial support as the club gets back to its feet.

And Levein reckons they have devised a blueprint that will allow Hearts to be competitive on the pitch and in rude health off it.

He said: “The long-term plan is sustainability and that’s the primary concern for everybody at the football club to ensure we don’t get back in a position that we’ve been at in the past by overspending.

“We’re trying really hard to make sure the club is run properly, that we concentrate on what I believe is the best way to punch above our weight in football in Scotland, and that is by producing young players.

“A lot of the stuff that has gone on in the last six-to-eight months has been about getting the first team up and running and employing staff.

“The real important stuff for the longer term future of the club goes on in the Academy. That is where, eventually, I believe the club can sustain itself by producing young players.”

Levein, who sits on the Hearts Board, added: “Why young players? Well, effectively it does cost you money to produce them but when they come into the first team, they get lower salaries.

“There is also the idea that you can produce players that become too good for Hearts, players that want to go on and play at the very top level.

“I would take great pleasure if we produce players here that go on and achieve that, guys like Craig Gordon.

“If we can do that, then the money will come in through transfer fees.

“We get enjoyment of watching the players while they’re here, then it’s about re-investing the money to make sure the club is sustainable.”

Levein also told the AGM that the club are looking to start development centres for seven-to-nine-year olds across central Scotland.

But the former club manager admits a lot of work has gone into restoring their own Academy after it was left in a state of disrepair following the Vladimir Romanov era.

He added: “The Academy has been neglected in the last three or four years. Because of cost-cutting and neglect by the previous owners, we’ve lost a lot of the bedrock.

“There were a lot of holes in the teams, a lack in certain positions. In the summer, we had four scouts for the youth structure. It’s now at 16 and the plan is to get up to 20.”