Graeme Jones provides Hearts verdict on Shelley Kerr appointment and what her 'wide-ranging' role looks like

Graeme Jones says Shelley Kerr will hold a ‘wide ranging’ role at Hearts after arriving at Tynecastle.

The former Scotland Women’s National Team Head Coach has been appointed as technical development manager to help support the development of players and coaches across the male academy set-up. It comes after Angus Beith was recently appointed permanent head coach of the club’s Lowland League ‘B’ team.

Her primary role will be “to make the development process from academy to first team more strategic and efficient, implementing a technical and tactical framework to help players and coaches aspire to fulfil their potential at Heart of Midlothian.” She joins after a period as Technical Lead and Head of Women’s Development Teams with the English FA, where she was pivotal in the implementation and development of the How We Play strategy for the women’s game.

Kerr led the Scotland Women’s National Team to the 2019 FIFA World Cup during her three years in charge and was also Head Coach of Arsenal Women’s team. She made history in the senior men’s game when she became the first female manager when she took charge of Stirling University in the fifth tier.

New sporting director Jones says the role Kerr has will be wide-ranging. He said: “Shelley’s extensive experience and skill set is ideally suited to this new role at the club and I look forward to working with her to harness the development pathway leading to the first team.

“She will support Angus from a coaching perspective with the B Team but her remit will be far more wide-ranging, from 18s through to B Team. She will have an overview of the talent pipeline – of coaches as well as players – but fundamentally the job of Technical Development Manager is to make the route towards the first team clearer for those on the journey.

“As well as her coaching experience and UEFA Pro Licence, what made Shelley stand out was the work undertaken with the English FA in taking the principle of a high-performance environment and implementing key physical, tactical and technical strategies and objectives.”

Kerr said: “Firstly, I would like to thank Graeme, the football department and the board at Heart of Midlothian for the opportunity to work in such an important role at the club.

“I am fortunate to have undertaken a variety of leadership roles across men’s and women’s football since I retired as a player and I am excited to bring the accumulation of that knowledge and experience to Heart of Midlothian”