Heart of Midlothian: Robbie Neilson 'doing fantastic job', says Craig Levein after graffiti attack
- Published
Sacking Robbie Neilson could plunge Hearts into the crisis Aberdeen had after Derek McInnes, warns Craig Levein
Craig Levein says Robbie Neilson has "done a fantastic job" as the former Hearts manager responded to those wanting the current boss sacked.
A mosaic of the club badge outside the Scottish Premiership club's stadium was defaced with graffiti this week.
It comes after third-top Hearts' lead over Aberdeen was reduced to one point.
"I think it's madness," Levein said, pointing out that the Foundation of Hearts has "invested a lot of money to make the outside look beautiful".
Levein lamented that "some idiot" had wasted money given to the supporters' group "in good faith".
Hearts fans chartered a plane to display a "Neilson Out" banner above Tynecastle Stadium shortly before he ended his first stint in charge to join MK Dons in 2016.
"The plane thing was nonsense - the club were doing really well at the time," Levein told BBC Scotland when asked if a section of Hearts fans had never accepted his successor as manager.
"To me, he's done a fantastic job. Be careful what you wish for, because I look at the Aberdeen situation - they get rid of Derek McInnes then two more managers in a very short space of time.
"Very quickly it can go from fairly regular success to almost a catastrophe."
After a weekend during which both Chelsea and Leicester City sacked their managers, Levein thinks the direct access to club officials via social media had led to a significant reduction in club "tolerance" during poor spells of form.
"People have a voice now," he added. "They can get to chairman and to board members much more easily than they did.
"In my day, they wrote in to the Evening News in Edinburgh and made a complaint or phoned a radio phone-in or made your way to the stadium to make a statement through booing.
"Now you can get instant access to owners and, when the owners come under pressure, that's when things can get a bit hairy."
Our coverage of Hearts is bigger and better than ever before - here's everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment