Former Scotland, Dundee United and Hearts boss Craig Levein insists he’s ‘genuinely excited’ by the prospect of helping to restore Brechin City’s place back in the SPFL.
Levein has made his return to the game after taking on a director of football-style role with the Angus club as they bid to recover from the shock of relegation to the Highland League.
Levein’s appointment on Friday – first revealed by Courier Sport – ended his 13-month exile from the game following his departure from Hearts in May 2020.
And he insists the prospect of working for his close friend Kevin Mackie – who was appointed as interim chairman of Brechin City on Monday – was too good to turn down.
“People may look at where I’ve been – Hearts, Dundee United, Leicester and Scotland and wonder what is in this for me,” Levein told Courier Sport. “But I’m just as excited by this as I ever was at those clubs.
“Football is football. I was just as motivated by the challenge as a young manager at Cowdenbeath as I ever was at bigger clubs or when I was in charge of Scotland.
“If you meet the people who are involved at Brechin and see the passion they have to restore the club back to where it should be then you’d understand.
Passionate
“I’ve known Kevin and his family for a very long time, over 20 years.
“He’s one of my best friends in the game and I’ve always been struck by how passionate he is about Brechin – not just the football club – but the place.
“He is fully invested in making it the best possible place to live and towards giving the people of Brechin a football club they can be proud of.
“Kevin will make nothing from this, it will just cost him money.
“But he’s a very committed and driven man and he has surrounded himself by good people to try and make this project a success.
Community
“He’s nipped away at me a few times to become involved in Brechin and I decided it was the right time to do it now.
“I can’t wait to try and play my part both in a football and commercial sense – with the ultimate aim of giving the people of Brechin a club that is at the heart of their community.”
Brechin’s Highland League campaign will kick off with home games to Turriff United and Keith on July 24th and 31st.
New Brechin City chairman Kevin Mackie: Our ambitious plan to bounce back to SPFL
