Hearts announce appointment of Frankie McAvoy as new academy director

He replaces Roger Arnott who left in January and will be in charge of overseeing the entire youth set-up with the long-term goal of producing more youngsters who can contribute to the first-team.

The 54-year-old has been out of work after being dismissed from his job as manager of Preston North End in December. He previously worked with sporting director Joe Savage at Deepdale, while the pair were also at Hamilton Accies together.

McAvoy has previous experience of being an academy director from his time New Douglas Park, where he helped bring through the likes of James McCarthy and James McArthur.

Frankie McAvoy speaks to Hearts TV after agreeing to become the club's new academy director. Picture: Contributed

“This isn’t an appointment we wanted to rush and in Frankie we have got the right person for what is a very important job,” Savage told the official Hearts website.

“I’m lucky enough to have known Frankie for a while, having worked with him both in Scotland and England, and he is a top operator with so much high-level experience.

“He ticks every box, having coached at youth level and helping to get young talent into the first team with Hamilton Accies, right the way through to coaching in the Premier League and managing in the Championship.

“There will no doubt be a few new challenges for him in this role but I’ve no doubt he will excel in it. It’s an exciting time for this club as we continue to put all the building blocks in place for sustained success, and I’m really happy that we’ve got someone of Frankie’s calibre on board.”

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