Dundee Utd name Levein as boss

Dundee United have unveiled former Hearts and Leicester manager Craig Levein as the man to replace Craig Brewster who was sacked on Sunday.

United moved quickly to get their man and signed him up on a two and a half year contract. He will bring with him Peter Houston as his assistant manager.

Brewster was sacked after a miserable run which sees United rock bottom of the SPL after the first twelve games of the season. The former Inverness manager won only two of the twenty eight games he was in charge, and Saturday’s 5-1 defeat to Falkirk was the final straw.

At a press conference today, new manager Levein revealed his desire to get United off the foot of the table and climb up the league.

He said: ‘I’m delighted to join Dundee United and I’m confident that I can help the club climb up the league. I wouldn’t have considered coming to Tannadice if there wasn’t a desire to succeed within the club.’

The former Hearts player and manager was currently managing Second Division Raith Rovers but was working without a contract and therefore was free to join United.

There was speculation linking him to the vacant Dunfermline job but he opted for United. Dunfermline are tipped to turn their attentions to outgoing United manager Craig Brewster.

Craig Levein is Dundee United’s SIXTH manager in four years. The job has proved too difficult for the likes of Gordon Chisholm, Ian McCall and Brewster.

Levein clearly has a hard job on his hand turning the club around but he is up for the challenge and assures United fans that he will give it all, he said: ‘I have some experience of managing change at clubs and I’d like to assure United fans that, based on my previous experiences and my initial impressions, this is not a club in crisis.’

He added: ‘The infrastructure is sound, the budget is reasonable, there is a determination to succeed and the playing squad is better than the league position suggests. There is a lot of hard work ahead, but with the support of everyone with the club’s best interests at heart, I am confident for the future.’

Dundee United chairman Eddie Thompson seemed pleased with his new appointment today and said at the press conference: ‘I felt it was in the best interests of the club to move swiftly and appoint an experienced manager without undue delay, I have made extensive enquiries with knowledgeable people in the game and Craig Levein comes highly recommended in every category of the criteria set by the board. He has a proven track record and an excellent reputation for man management.’

Lets hope he can turn round United’s fortunes and get them moving in the right direction.

His first game will be against Rangers on Saturday at Tannadice. Tough start.