How will Joe Savage's time at Hearts be remembered?

Along the way, there was the surreal penalty shootout defeat to Dunfermline Athletic in the League Cup, a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Livingston and four managers.

Bringing Robbie Neilson back to EH11 was the sensible choice to get the team out of the Championship and back to its rightful place in the upper echelons of the Scottish top flight. And it was during that sojourn in the second tier when Joe Savage arrived in the sporting director role in December 2020.

Since Craig Levein's departure, the club had been looking for someone to lead the football side. Jim Jefferies was been brought back in an advisory role for a period before Savage was tasked with the long-term position which had many facets to it beyond simply recruitment, albeit an area where the 40-year-old had experience from his time at Hamilton Academical, Preston North End and Norwich City.

Fast forward three-and-a-half years and he has now stepped down from the role, the club citing a "desire to leave his role to take some much-needed time out from the demands of the football world". 

How will he be remembered? In a word, positively. Steven Naismith summed it up: “We have seen many improvements within the football department and he’ll leave it in a good place.

With the first team, the recruitment department fell under his remit. It is an area that brings plenty of scrutiny and as Naismith has said during his time as Hearts boss, it is perhaps the hardest element of the job to get right. So, of course, there have been missteps along the way — notably Orestis Kiomourtzoglou. But on the flipside, the club have managed to bring in a raft of players who have enhanced the team. Everyone from Lawrence Shankland to Frankie Kent, Alex Cochrane to Josh Ginnelly, Kenneth Vargas to Cammy Devlin.

Was it Savage who was unearthing all these players? No. You can trace Shankland back to Neilson. Beni Baningime and Ellis Simms likewise with Naismith and his Everton connections. The team under head of recruitment Will Lancefield continues to bring names to the table through their analytical work.

It was a team effort with Savage facilitating it and securing deals. Plenty of work going into getting Shankland's move from Belgium over the line, for example.

"That’s when I come into prominence," he said. "I will go and speak to the agent, speak to the club. Find out what we can afford to pay here, negotiate the deal and try and get him over. That’s my most important role."

During the last three years, the club have broadened their horizon beyond the United Kingdom with players arriving from Australia, Costa Rica and Japan. On the evidence of a 60-minute appearance in a friendly, Gerald Taylor, the latest arrival from outside of Europe, may well go on to become the pick of the bunch.

Read more

• Joe Savage on pressure of Hearts sporting director role, abuse and desire for success

• How recruitment works at Hearts - transfer process, missed targets, scouting markets

• How Steven Naismith landed Hearts job - presentation, experience, style

Go back to the AGM and December, Savage and the club came in for criticism for their recruitment policy. It was perhaps unfair, even more so on reflection. There has always been a balance between recruiting players who know the Scottish game or can adapt quickly with those from abroad who are viewed as offering value, short and long-term. 

Away from the first team, the women's side have made strides under Eva Olid, helped by increased financial backing. They have finished in the top four in back-to-back seasons and intend to become part of the discussion for a third-place spot. There has been a conscious effort to make the operation of the women's side more professional.

As for the academy, Frankie McAvoy was appointed academy director for "what is a very important job". He had an existing relationship with Savage going back to previous clubs and sought to increase the athleticism of those players coming through the academy. There was also a significant development with the B team joining the Lowland League, something Savage and those at the club felt was important for the progress of players. That being said, there are still ways to go for the academy, certainly further down the age groups to grow.

It hasn't all been positive.

Savage discussed the criticism and abuse he has faced. It is one of the curiosities of modern football where there is now such a focus on the sporting director/director of football. Savage felt that last season as the team struggled in the first half of the campaign.

Joe Savage chats with Stephen Kingsley. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) (Image: Alan Harvey - SNS Group)

During his time at Tynecastle, he has been front-facing and willing to engage with fans, whether it is at supporters' events or interviews with podcasts. When new signings have been announced his comments have been part of the club statement. But when things aren't going so well fans begin to ask questions of central figures, the players, the manager and the sporting director.

No one needs to be reminded of the demands and pressures at the club which can lead to over-the-top criticism with some taking it too far with unhelpful abuse.

There is also the question of last summer's recruitment, certainly when you compare it to this year. Hearts brought in seven new signings this summer by the time of the first signing of the summer 12 months ago. For one reason or another, perhaps the ambition of targets with two internationals going elsewhere, it wasn't ideal preparation as the team got off to a slow start.

Savage, reflecting on an area where he would have liked to have done better, spoke about player trading, Alex Cochrane becoming the first to leave for a fee that could net the club £1million+.

"If you want me to be critical of myself I’d say we have not done well enough on that side since we have come in," he said. "We’ve not managed to player trade, we’ve had a lot of interest in our players but we’ve not quite had the offers where we thought we can’t turn that down."

Ultimately, the view on Savage's tenure at Hearts will be viewed as a success. The reaction from fans demonstrates that while also highlighting the capricious nature of football and how opinions, criticism and praise can morph and change.

When he spoke to Hearts Standard last year, he said that when it came to the time to leave he hoped to be able to say, "'We won that, that was brilliant, we succeeded in a mission to build it back up to a point where it is in a great position’. That’s the dream."

Silverware - Championship title aside - may have eluded the club during Savage's time at Tynecastle but there is absolutely no doubt the club are back "in a great position".