Craig Levein was named as first-team manager of Hearts, the club confirmed yesterday.

Levein, who had previously held the role of director of football at the club, succeeds Ian Cathro, who was sacked as head coach before the start of the Premiership season.

Jon Daly had been tasked with overseeing first-team affairs since the start of the league campaign, but the club have moved to hand Levein a return to the Tynecastle dugout as they revamp the management structure.

A statement from chair Ann Budge said: “I am very pleased to be able to announce that, at the request of the board, Craig Levein has agreed to take on the role of first-team manager at the club.

“He will continue to hold a seat on the board and, as such, will retain the overall responsibilities associated with the wider role of director of football.”

She added: “In deciding how best to move forward, the board took into account the fact that we are facing a unique set of circumstances this year, with the first match on our home ground not coming until three months into the season.

“Given this situation, we believed it was essential to call on experience.”

The 52-year-old emerged as favourite for the role amid speculation that the former Scotland boss had a heavy influence on on-field tactics during Cathro’s tenure, which ended in an abrupt departure before the start of the season after just seven months in charge.

Since then, the club have made a slow start to their Premiership campaign, winning just once under Daly and losing twice.