Savage brings experience and list of English contacts to Hearts role
At 36, Joe Savage is quite young for someone with as much experience in recruitment and scouting as he holds.
He arrives as Hearts’ new sporting director after five years working in the top two league sin English football, having been head of recruitment at Preston North End for the past three years.
He was previously with Lilywhites boss Alex Neil at Norwich City as chief scout having worked together at Hamilton Accies.
He said: “I look for ward to putting the experience I have gained over my timed own south and the network of contacts I have built to the b est possible use at Hearts. I can’t wait to get started.”
The hiring ends Hearts’ long wait for a sporting director to take over from the former director of football role held by ex-boss Craig Levein.
Savage did have a playing career, albeit a mode stone in Scotland’ slower leagues with St en house muir, Berwick Rangers and East Stirlingshire.
The forward hung up his boots in January 2012, though it wouldn’t be long before he was back in the game, joining Hamilton Accies the following summer as director of recruitment and analysis. This involved watching opposition teams and scouting players to potentially sign for all levels of the Lanarkshire club.
Since then he’s followed ex-Accies boss Alex Neil wherever he’s gone, graduating to chief scout at Norwich and head of recruitment at Preston North End. It was a there--fore a little bit of a surprise to Preston supporters to see him leave and agree to take over the sporting director role at Tynecastle. He clearly feels it’s time to make it on his own and will have been enticed by the promise of greater responsibility within Tynecastle than he enjoyed with the Lilywhites.
Though he had a say in moulding the club’s transfer policy, both in the short and long-term, ultimately it was the board's decision. He was mainly tasked with identifying potential players that could be recruited within the club’s budget and providing a list to be debated over.
Tight purse strings mean Preston have only signed two players in 18 months, some - thing supporters have speculated could have frustrated Savage. And while his role placed an emphasis on establishing contacts with agents, he wasn’ t involved in the negotiating of contracts and transfer fees. While his exact responsibilities at Hearts are not yet known, if it’s anything like Levein’s former position then he’ll have a much greater say in the club’s strategy than what he enjoyed at Deepdale.
Head coach Robbie Neilson has said in the past, at Hearts, MK Dons and Dundee United, that he feels more comfor table working with a director of football/spor ting director than operating as a hands-on, old-school manager. If the two can establish a strong professional relationship then this transition should go smoothly.
“I have been closely involved with the selection process and I am really confident that Joe and I will work well together,” said Neilson.
“I believe he will be a great asset to the club.”
Owner Ann Budge said: “We have been looking for the right candidate for some time and I could not be happier with the appointment.”