Who is Joe Savage and what will he bring to Hearts as new sporting director?
The lowdown on Hearts new sporting director after his appointment was confirmed
At 36, Joe Savage is quite young for someone with as much experience in recruitment and scouting as he holds, though he did have a playing career, albeit a modest one in Scotland’s lower leagues with Stenhousemuir, Berwick Rangers and East Stirlingshire.
The forward hung up his boots in January 2012, though it wouldn’t be long before he was back in the game, joining Hamilton Accies the following summer as director of recruitment and analysis. This involved watching opposition teams and scouting players to potentially sign for all levels of the Lanarkshire club.
Since then he’s followed ex-Accies boss Alex Neil wherever he’s gone, graduating to chief scout at Norwich and head of recruitment at Preston North End.
It was a therefore a little bit of a surprise to Preston supporters to see him leave and agree to take over the sporting director role at Tynecastle. He clearly feels it’s time to make it on his own and will have been enticed by the promise of greater responsibility within Tynecastle than he enjoyed with the Lilywhites.
Though he had a say in moulding the club’s transfer policy, both in the short and long-term, ultimately it was the board's decision. He was mainly tasked with identifying potential players that could be recruited within the club’s budget and providing a list to be debated over.
Tight purse strings mean Preston have only signed two players in 18 months, something supporters have speculated could have frustrated Savage. And while his role placed an emphasis on establishing contacts with agents, he wasn’t involved in the negotiating of contracts and transfer fees.
While his exact responsibilities at Hearts are not yet known, if it’s anything like Craig Levein’s former position then he’ll have a much greater say in the club’s strategy than what he enjoyed at Deepdale.
Head coach Robbie Neilson has said in the past, at Hearts, MK Dons and Dundee United, that he feels more comfortable working with a director of football/sporting director than operating as a hands-on, old-school manager. If the two can establish a strong professional relationship then this transition should go smoothly. Savage was a well-liked figure with the English Championship club, so there are no immediate fears there.