Saturday, November 25. A date for your Heart of Midlothian diary.

Normally a home clash with St Johnstone in a run-of-the-mill league game wouldn't require underlining or circling on a calendar. But it is set to be an intriguing afternoon in EH11 as Craig Levein returns to the dugout at Tynecastle Park for the first time since October 2019 when he oversaw a 1-1 draw with Rangers as the Hearts head coach.

It will be the first time he will be in the opposition dugout since his spell as Dundee United boss. A 0-0-0 draw in December 2009. Marian Kello saved a Danny Cadamarteri penalty.

On Sunday, Levein was confirmed as St Johnstone boss. Coincidentally the team he last faced as a manager. A 1-0 loss for Hearts in Perth brought his second stint as Hearts boss to an end during the 2019/20 campaign. The former Scotland boss has since had time to reflect on that spell in charge where he went from being the club's director of football to combining the role with managing the side.

READ MORE: Why Hearts attack struggled v Rangers as uncertainty evident

Speaking to the press following his unveiling as Steven MacLean's replacement with the Perth Saints three points adrift at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership, he admitted that he took on too much towards the end of his time as Hearts boss.

“If you take into consideration what a manager has to do nowadays, I think it’s impossible to do everything, I really do," Levein, who guided Hearts to back-to-back third place finishes in his first spell, said. “That’s what I learned from Hearts, one hundred percent. I found myself knackered there. Coming back into the Premiership and trying to do everything would be a horrendous mistake. 

"I did enjoy going out on a Sunday watching Hearts U16s and all that stuff.  But once you’ve had a game on the Saturday - away all day up to Aberdeen or in Glasgow - then on a Sunday you’re somewhere watching kids games. 

“Then you start it all again on a Monday with first-team training. I had director of football stuff on top of it, it all just became nowhere near as enjoyable as I wanted it to be.  I was thinking to myself: ‘This is supposed to be fun’. But I was knackered and I couldn’t deal with the situation. I was stretched too thin.

“And, when things are going wrong, pressure builds. So I always thought that if I do come back in, I’d make sure I had people in place who would do a lot of the things which take up a lot of my time.  That gives me the space to think and deal with the things I need to deal with."

READ MORE: Ricardo Fuller: The story of a Hearts cult hero - 'He was just different'

Vowing not to make the same mistake, Levein, has installed former Hearts striker and coach Andy Kirk as his assistant, alongside first-team coach Alec Cleland, with the view to the Northern Irishman overseeing the majority of training after a successful period as Brechin City manager.

“Andy will be taking the training," he said. "I’m here to manage. And I will be managing him to take training. I’ll stand back and watch what’s going on. Could my voice have more of an impact then? Maybe.  But I also think Andy’s voice is really important and Alec's voice will be really important too.”