Exclusive:Inside Hearts and Jamestown: How the data analytics led Tynecastle officials to Derek McInnes twice

Jamestown Analytics operate like sport’s Secret Intelligence Service. A small office on Jamestown Road in the London borough of Camden is their only base. You could walk past it without knowing, for there is no sign to indicate their presence. The business website amounts to one page, yet this is a world-leading sports data analysis firm upon whom Hearts have hung their maroon bucket hat.

Every manager, coach and player brought to Tynecastle Park is first vetted by Jamestown using software adapted from Starlizard, the gambling company owned by the multi-millionaire and prospective Hearts investor, Tony Bloom. Starlizard are based in the same undistinguished office buildings at Jamestown Wharf on Jamestown Road along the banks of Regent’s Canal. You begin to see how closely they are intertwined.

For Hearts, this relationship is very much about making connections. They partnered with Jamestown last year aiming to revolutionise recruitment of players and staff. Bloom’s separate bid to invest £9.86m for a 29 per cent stake in the Edinburgh club will be voted on by fans later this month. The dynamics of operations inside Tynecastle are changing, so the move to appoint Derek McInnes head coach raises some questions.

How did software with access to every league in world football settle on a manager just along the road at Kilmarnock? A guy who has worked in Scotland for the vast majority of his adult life is Hearts’ preferred candidate - but what about the unknown Portuguese coaches? What about the wily Italian expert or the young and ambitious 35-year-old in Germany’s third division?

Brighton, USG, Hearts, Como and Castellon all use Jamestown

The perception that Jamestown is designed to unearth hidden gems is commonly-held, but not entirely accurate. Their algorithms are determined by criteria given to them by each club. Whether it’s Brighton and Hove Albion, Union-Saint Gilloise, Hearts, Como or Deportivo Castellon, they tailor every search to the requirements of each individual club - be it for a player or coach.

McInnes ranked highly on a list of candidates this time because Hearts want someone with Scottish football experience after sacking Neil Critchley last month. The Falkirk manager John McGlynn was an early candidate, plus there is also admiration within the Tynecastle boardroom for the job Stephen Robinson has done at St Mirren and, previously, Motherwell. Nonetheless, 53-year-old McInnes ticks more boxes than anyone else within Hearts’ budget who has that SPFL knowledge.

Intriguingly, he was also ranked highly by Jamestown last September when the Tynecastle hierarchy needed a replacement for Steven Naismith. On that occasion, the search was more wide-ranging and led to talks with the 65-year-old Norwegian coach Per-Mathias Høgmo before Critchley’s appointment. Neither man had Scottish football experience so, rather than rinse and repeat six months later, Hearts changed their search criteria to feed into Jamestown’s system this time. Lo and behold, McInnes’ name is on the list again.

Jamestown’s analysis looks at coaches who have improved players in previous jobs and have a track record in that field. It does not focus purely on winning, although that is a factor alongside finances and suitability for the culture of the club in question. McInnes’ record in Scotland with St Johnstone, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock indicates a strong manager with clear principles, who is able to sign and develop players before selling for profit, and achieve success relative to his club in the process.

Next Hearts manager will inherit a big job in the SPFL Premiership

His name has now been put forward twice after Jamestown ran their data. Hearts chose not to pursue him first time. That they are doing so this time round makes sense if they want a Scottish football background. A formal approach to Kilmarnock has been made and the Edinburgh club are willing to meet the minimum-fee release clause in McInnes’ contract, which runs until 2027.

He will need to work with analytics when it comes to player recruitment as that is now a non-negotiable for a Hearts manager. What he will inherit is a prime job in Scottish football with a talented squad needing rejuvenated and refreshed to regain a challenging position in the William Hill Premiership. He will also gain access to a cutting-edge analysis system which ranked him highly on two separate occasions as a suitable Hearts manager. That is likely to hold a certain appeal.

McInnes is renowned for his knowledge of British-based players and maintains a close relationship with the talented scout Russ Richardson. The pair worked together at Bristol City, Aberdeen and now Kilmarnock, where Richardson is currently head of recruitment. Throwing Jamestown into the mix brings added expertise regardless whether there is a role for Richardson with Hearts or not.

Plans to lure McInnes to Gorgie have been well-publicised since the Edinburgh News first revealed that he was Hearts’ leading candidate last Monday. Talk on the subject has been rife across Scottish football and very little has been kept quiet. If all goes to plan, he could be in the Tynecastle dugout as early as Wednesday night for the Premiership match against former club St Johnstone. If not, it could be an interesting debut at Rugby Park against his current employers on Sunday. That very much depends on what agreement Hearts and Kilmarnock can come to regarding timings and backroom staff.

Jamestown like to operate quietly and efficiently with the minimum of fuss, but their secretive methods have led Hearts to a man right under their noses for years. That has now happened on two separate occasions. It is not a recommendation they intend to ignore a second time.

READ MORE: Hearts make contact over McInnes