Joe Savage is both fascinated and excited at what is in store for Heart of Midlothian. Not only with the next head coach appointment but the prospect of Tony Bloom and the analytics algorithm being part of how the club operate going forward.

Savage left his role as sporting director at Hearts earlier this year and it is set to be all change at a club he spent three and a half years at.

He has been replaced by Graeme Jones, the club continue their search for a replacement for Steven Naismith following his dismissal and there is set to be a deal involving Hearts and Jamestown Analytics, deal that could see investment into the club.

The analytics has already been put to work to help source the club's next head coach which is understood to be former Blackpool and QPR boss Neil Critchley.

Savage was part of that search more than 12 months ago when the club were looking at their options to replace Robbie Neilson permanently. They eventually opted for Naismith following his interim spell. 

Yet, being aware of possible managerial options was an ongoing process.

"The previous manager search with Steven, we identified some good talent, good managers that we thought would have improved but I think Steven earned the opportunity to get the job," Savage told Hearts Standard.

"He impressed a lot of people on the board with his vision and what he planned to do and I think we saw that, we finished third last year at a comfortable distance and got to two semi-finals. 

"What Andrew [McKinlay] had always said to me was to keep that spinning, make sure you are always looking at managers and what’s out there in the market because either Steven will leave because someone wants to take him, Steven will leave because he wants to leave or Steven will leave because he has been removed from the job.

"We kept updating it every couple of months and I would like to think that what Andrew has done with Graeme involved in it."

Savage admitted he was "disappointed" that Naismith lost his job following the team's start to the season but believed there was a "chance to do something different" with potentially new doors being opened.

"I think it is exciting for them because they have a whole new world of contacts that they might not have had before," he said. "Our data would have identified good managers. But what you have to understand, they have got a set limit they can pay, they have a set level they can operate to.

"In Europe every year which is a good thing for a coach to look at. Managers are clever, they will look at everything, they will look at the bigger picture, the league and I hope the person they appoint wants to challenge the Old Firm because I believe Hearts can do it.

"The challenge is sustaining that over a period of time, over a full season, it’s difficult because their budgets are bigger and they sign better players. Budgets win you leagues. These are considerations when you are appointing a manager, does he understand what he is coming into?

"I hope the new manager, whoever it is, realises it’s a tough job but it is a great job if you get it right. It is a good fan base if you're winning games, showing a bit of passion, attacking teams at Tynecastle."

Read more

He added: "I hope they are doing something different. I’ve not spoken to anyone about it but I hope they go down a different route. I do like the idea of Hearts appointing a foreign manager, having no relationships with anyone, having fresh ideas, coming into an environment he doesn’t know but puts his stamp on things, he makes things his own.

"It is really interesting to me how this plays out."

The use of data, Savage explained, is nothing new at Hearts. It has been utilised to identify players over the last few years with the club entering similar or the same markets where Brighton and USG have had success, notably central and South America and Japan.

"I’d have been really intrigued by the algorithm, seeing what they could produce and deliver," he said. "What he has done at Brighton and USG [Union Saint-Gilloise] is excellent.

"Tony and Brighton can spend more money to bring players in so it will be interesting to see the algorithm at work. It’s really secretive and it’s brilliant."

Reflecting on the recruitment at the club during Savage's time as sporting director where he oversaw the recruitment department as one part of his remit, there are two ways to view it. 

On the one hand, the club made one notable sale during that time with Alex Cochrane joining Birmingham City in the summer. Yet, at the same time, a squad was built that delivered three top-four finishes, two group stage/league phase appearances in Europe, plus regular appearances at Hampden Park.

"That is the thing that makes me most proud with regard to recruitment," Savage said. "What we inherited to what we left, it is a completely different team. Craig Gordon, Liam Boyce and Craig Halkett were in the building. Stephen Kingsley was just signing. The rest are new signings brought in during that time.

Joe Savage and Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay.Joe Savage and Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay. (Image: Mark Scates - SNS Group) "How I judge players, the recruitment is how many games they play. It’s not what you sell them for. Yes, player trading is brilliant but ideally, you sign players who are performing for the club, playing a lot of games and winning a trophy is the be-all and end-all. A lot of the players signed are mainstays in the club and players who have played 50, 75, 100 games for the club and really established themselves.

"We signed a lot of players that definitely took the team up a level and built a squad that knew was going to compete and compete in Europe, compete with Celtic and Rangers and try to win a trophy."

On player trading, why have Hearts struggled to make significant sales?

"I don’t think a lot of teams value the Scottish league the way we value it," Savage said. "Only Celtic have shown they can player trade brilliantly. Rangers did it a couple of years ago with Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo. Aberdeen with Bojan Miovski, a brilliant signing for them.

"I was under no pressure to player trade because the club told me that as long as we were successful and making Europe and group stage especially, that pays for player trading and we did it two years out of three and I think we can all agree we should have done it three years out of three.

"We had a lot of interest in players, I had a lot of calls but they said they would offer X amount and I valued the players higher than that, we won’t sell for that price because we think he is worth more than that. I could have player traded but we wouldn’t have got the money I think the players commanded.

"I know there was a lot of interest in a lot of our players because of how successful they were, how good they were playing. Three seasons ago we finished 17 points clear in third, the season after we finished three points behind Aberdeen and last season we finished 12 points ahead of Kilmarnock. That shows you the team has done really, really well."

While there has been no pressure to player trade it is something the club would like to operate. That is seen through the recruitment of, as Savage said, "Hearts fans don’t like us saying it but project players". 

He added: "We want to sign project players because you want to have the option to eventually player trade, you want to have players who play for two or three years have a value and be sold on.

"We are competing with Aberdeen and Hibs and good Championship clubs that can pay more money than us. You can turn around and say pay more money but that’s not the business model at Hearts. You have to find markets and niches of players who you think can strengthen you so you take risks. Every signing is a gamble."

Savage, who admitted with hindsight that there could have been more experience signed in the January 2023 window, revealed he was only involved in some of the club's summer business, namely the players who signed pre-contract, making it aware to Andrew McKinlay when he informed the chief executive of his decision to step down that it wasn't right to be involved when his mind was away from the club.

Now, the position is as an interested spectator, keen to see Jones thrive in a role he spent three and a half years in and he has already reached out to him.

"Everything I have heard about him, really good guy, really driven," Savage said. "I’ll be his biggest supporter because I know what it is like.

"I hope he does a great job, I hope he does better than me and it means Hearts have won a cup."