THE question came right at the end but was the first thing on everyone’s minds at Craig Levein’s official unveiling as Hearts manager and all who weren’t in the Gorgie Suite at Tynecastle.

So, Craig, what formation are you going to play now you have both hands on the wheel again?

“I might play one striker- just in case,” was the sheepish and knowing reply from a man whose entire managerial career has been, unfairly, overshadowed by one rank bad decision.

People ignore or have forgotten the good work Levein did at Hearts and Dundee United. To them, it’s all about that match in 2010 when the-then Scotland manager set out his team in a 4-6-0 formation against the Czech Republic.

It was ugly and also didn’t work.

This is why so many Hearts supporters are going to take some convincing that this club legend is the man. Again.

Forget Levein appointing Ian Cathro, a disaster he took full responsibility for, and the notes passed down from the stand, or even why a director of football was in the dressing room at half-time. It’s that match seven years ago which has stayed with him.

Asked about being popular, Levein, who to be fair spoke well and with honesty yesterday, said: “I care. If you speak about popularity, it wouldn’t matter who was sitting here, because we are not getting top managers like Jose Mourinho; whoever we take is not nailed on to bring guaranteed success.

“Whoever was here, there would be some people happy, some people unhappy. What I can do to affect their opinion is win games.

“Look, this is a demanding club. I know that more than anybody. We were in the Championship three years ago and we’ve got the club on a sound financial footing, we have been in Europe, finished third in the league and although last year was a little but disappointing, we finished fifth and if you look back through history, finishing fifth is normal for Hearts.

“Part of me likes that challenge and environment, and my hope is to change the mind of anyone who is out there unhappy with things. I want to get into a position when they are not voicing that opinion because we are winning games.”

We shall get to appointment of Cathro in a moment. Levein was questioned a lot about the man he chose and is now replacing and one poser stopped him in his tracks which was ‘did he feel a duty to make it right after the Cathro experiment failed?’

“I would have to search deep down to find that one,” he said. “I don’t know how that would manifest itself other than just a feeling. My thought wasn’t: ‘I’ve got to fix this because of this.’

“Part of it was me looking at the club being in this position just now and thinking: ‘What’s the best I can do to help?’

“I wanted to do it. I must’ve been thinking about it and going through this thought process somewhere.”

And what about the process which saw Cathro, a 30-year-old rookie, given a job he was clearly not up to, this is where Levein is at his most open.

It was his call and made starting a Scotland team without a striker a stroke of genius.

“I think Ian will be a wonderful coach, said Levein. “People look at it and say that it was completely his inexperience, and to a degree maybe that is the case. But I think it is more the way that football is played in Scotland.

“Ian would be a perfect coach for Celtic or Rangers of a while ago, where they had the better players, because his coaching and his ideas in the game are fantastic. But at times we didn’t have the players to do it.

“What happens is that you lose a game and people get a little bit frightened and then you lose another game and get a little bit more frightened and stop wanting to take the ball.

“Everything Ian was doing was fantastic but if your players don’t feel comfortable and confident taking the ball then there is an issue.”

It’d also an issue if the players don’t respect the man in charge and that wasn’t the case at Hearts before Cathro was shown the door.

No matter what you think of the man, Levein will carry more respect when he walks into the dressing room.

He’s a pragmatist, no bad thing in Scotland, and actually enjoys a good record as a club manager.

“I want to prove myself. I just want to do that. I do think this minute is different from the last time. I don’t see any great connection.

“I just see an opportunity here to be, not completely different, but I have obviously thought long and hard about my time in football, including Dundee United and Scotland, the last two jobs I was in.

“But I have thought about both jobs and where I am right now. I am excited and interested to see where it goes.”

The appointment is not imaginative or particularly popular. But it feel right. No matter what, Hearts will be as always a fascinating watch.