What a difference a year has made for rejuvenated Hearts boss Craig Levein

CRAIG LEVEIN admits he was struggling to cope with life as a manager 12 months ago.

The Hearts boss has been through plenty of ups and downs during his career.

But he rates last season as the toughest time he has experienced.

That’s a surprising revelation from a man who endured the pain of having a playing career cut short by injury – when he was just 32 – and was later sacked from management roles at Leicester City and Scotland.

Not long ago it, looked like Levein’s frontline days were behind him.

He returned to Hearts as Director of Football, and was seemingly content to work behind the scenes.

However, he was thrust back into the job of picking the team when the appointment of Ian Cathro as manager went disastrously wrong.

Those who believed Levein’s best days were behind him have been forced to eat their words.

This afternoon he takes a Jambo’s side leading the Premiership table into the Betfred Cup semi-final against Celtic at Murrayfield.

He said: “I’m excited. From the time I made the decision to come back in, it just took me a bit of time to get back into the swing of things.

“I had spent three or four years trying to separate myself from the players and the decision-making.

“So it took a while to get back, and last season was the toughest I have ever been involved in throughout my career.

“If it had been my first job, I would have been struggling.

“It was my toughest year in management – and I have had some bad ones!

“This year has been better. We have got a lot of work done since January, but we are still early in the season.”

The 54-year-old maintains it wasn’t his choice to spend two years out of the game after leaving the Scotland job in 2012.

He went on: “I didn’t think of it as stepping away. Nobody offered me a job!

“I was offered a couple of things, but they didn’t suit.

“The thing that was of the most interest to me was coming back as the Director of Football to help Ann Budge.

“At that time, I didn’t have any plans to be back in the dug-out, certainly while I was here.”

Of course, Levein was at the centre of a health scare at the end of August, and spent two days in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary’s coronary care unit. On the whole, however, as the league table shows, things have worked out very nicely for him this term.

It would look even better if his men could reach the League Cup Final on December 2 by knocking out the holders.

Levein thinks carefully when asked if topping the table gives his team a greater chance of victory.

“I don’t know how much it adds to it,” he said.

“I just know the boys are feeling pretty good just now.

“I don’t know if that is enough to sustain us through 90 minutes.

“We need to play well, we need to defend properly, and we need to work harder than we have done in every other match this season.

“But the thing that makes me feel good is the fact I think we can win the game.”

Hearts have had a few injury problems, but the continuing excellent form of Steven Naismith has been a welcome boost.

Levein believes his experience could be vital against Celtic.

He said: “Steven is playing really well, and I think the disappointment he had of being out of the picture at Norwich City has made him feel even better about being a mainstay figure here.

“I can’t speak highly enough of him as a person, and of what he has done here, both in the dressing-room and on the field.

“He is vital to us for this match.

“Both he and Steven MacLean deserve a lot of credit for their performances.

“Both Stevens have been in this situation on numerous occasions.

“There are boys in this team who won’t have been, so that will help the younger lads, or the ones who haven’t been in this environment before.”