Joe wears Hearts on his sleeve
As a footballer, I was once told by a manager never to confuse ability with ambition.
It wasn’t meant as a compliment and served as a warning not to complicate the game but instead focus on doing the basics better.
No doubt Joe Savage has heard something similar during his own trawl of Scottish football’s lower leagues – and it’s not our only common denominator.
The Hearts sporting director once admitted: “I probably needed to fail at playing the level I thought I would.”
He had to find a role in which he could excel within the game. Ditto. Savage went into recruitment and, for this columnist, it was media.
As a player Joe was regarded as damaged goods. In his current role at Tynecastle he’ll deploy due diligence when assessing a signing target.
So hopefully there’s no offence taken when it’s suggested he gained an unwanted reputation for on-field aggression.
Anyway, we both had too many flaws as players to achieve the fame and fortune our talents had flirted with.
Unlike so many within the game, Savage isn’t a guy who believes football owes him a living.
Without going into much detail, his rise as scout at Hamilton to recruitment roles at Norwich, Preston and now Hearts has been immensely impressive.
It’s a lesson in brassneck perseverance.
The polar opposite of the self-confessed lazy footballer, a man working against the odds and gaining a reward for carving himself a niche as a talent spotter.
Make no mistake, there are many who will be jealous of the career path that has taken him to the Jambos. Football has never been a world where bettering yourself brings sincerity in any well-wishing or congratulations.
Savage has been accused of confusing ability with ambition by
SAVAGE ambitions
claiming Hearts can win the Premiership.
He said: “We want to win the league. That’s my personal ambition. People could call me deluded for that.”
It’s quite a marketing trick to generate so much enthusiasm for a two-horse race at the start of the season.
A personal bugbear is the battle to claim top six, which is held up by some clubs as a meteoric achievement when, in truth, they’re striving for mediocrity.
Savage spoke of a genuine belief that his club can one day claim the title. In doing so, he broke a taboo within our game where talk of finishing any higher than third remains sacrosanct.
Having asked the question many times, the look of panic and terror on the faces of coaches and players across the provincial Premiership board is always telling.
If there’s to be a Leicester City anywhere in our midst then believing it can be done is the fundamental starting point.
Winning at Celtic Park and Ibrox is also a must while hoping the Old Firm take points off one another.
The economic reality of a club outside of Celtic and Rangers winning the Premiership suggests it’s something of a pipedream.
But saying it can be done is a start – so good on you Joe for believing our game doesn’t need to have a glass ceiling.
We both known the struggle against the odds of adversity having led the line at East Stirling.
He doesn’t believe football owes him a living