Shelley Kerr outlines Hearts 'succession plan' that can help find the next James Wilson and Adam Forrester

Shelley Kerr says Hearts will endeavour to put building blocks in place to make sure youngsters like James Wilson and Adam Forrester keep coming into the first-team.

The former Scotland national team head coach joined the Premiership club in November as Technical Development Manager. She has a wide-ranging role and is involved in the development of players and coaches within the male academy. She is also Angus Beith’s assistant within the B Team setup.

Hearts currently have a youth team in the Lowland League, who the likes of current first-team players in Wilson and Forrester have featured for. Macaulay Tait and Aidan Denholm are others who have progressed from the ‘B’ team to the senior environment.

The B Team finished second in the Lowland League last season and while some of those players have gone out on loan to other clubs within the SPFL, Forrester and Wilson have played regularly in the Premiership and other competitions. One goal for Kerr is to see if the next young stars can be found season after season to keep a consistent transition from academy to first team going.

She told Hearts TV: “I mean, for me, it's the most exciting part in coaching and managing if you're part of that strategic approach to the developmental issues at a club. Right now, I think the club are doing fantastically well. It's quite unique to have two players that are starting almost every game in Adam and James.

“That's a credit to the staff and the academy that have helped develop them. But for me, we need more. So, it's a big task, but I think that should be the overarching objective of the academy and then coming out of the academy to try and get more players that are senior ready that can play in the first team and also in Europe.

“I'm really passionate about the club first and foremost, but I'm also passionate about developing people and that's players and coaches. I don't want to put a target on it, but I think that if you look at the example of James and Adam just now playing in the first team, I think we need to have that succession plan that happens every year, that we have one or two players breaking into the first team.

“For me, that's what success would look like from a playing perspective, but then also looking at the staff as well, making sure that the coaches are ready to step up and just that all-rounded approach to developing people at the club.”

On her role, Kerr added: “Firstly, it's about supporting the B team, but it's also looking at the players coming out of the academy and that transitional phase into the under-18s in the academy. I think ultimately, it's about trying to make sure that the players get the right wraparound support so that we give them every opportunity to excel at the club.

“I think anybody would tell you when you go into club football it's 100 miles an hour, but in a good way. I think that's the way that I like it. It's very fast-paced, much different from an international space, but it's been really enjoyable. Spending a bit of time firstly getting to know the staff, but also the players as well, and especially that phase of coming out of the academy, into the under-18s and the B team.”