Joe Savage has been opened up on his shock Hearts exit, the reasons behind it and the one regret he harbours.
The former Tynecastle sporting director moved on from the club in the summer having notified CEO Andrew McKinlay months before that he intended to step down.
It came as surprise news after a successful three-and-a-half years in Gorgie for the former Preston and Norwich recruitment chief.
Savage has since started his own football consultancy firm, and has been replaced at Hearts by Graeme Jones, who is yet to officially start as he works his notice with the SFA.
Joe Savage explains reasons for leaving Hearts
Savage has now given his first interview since leaving the role, in which he has explained why he decided the time was right to move on.
The pressures of the role had taken a toll on him and he wanted to leave the club on a high after performing some good work. It wasn’t an easy exit though and he broke down in tears when informing CEO Andrew McKinlay of his decision.
The 40-year-old told Hearts Standard: “When I told Andrew McKinlay, who is the best chief executive I’ll probably ever work with, I started crying when I told him I was going to leave because the emotion of saying to him, ‘This is enough for me, I just feel this is the right time for me to leave’.
“I still remember it to this day 21st of May, the day before my birthday. Only one person knew I was leaving, my wife. I told her the night before that I was going to tell Andrew and that I was really comfortable with the decision. It’s not because of this, it’s not because of that, it’s because my time is up.
“It felt like the right time and felt like I’m giving them enough time to bring someone else in to do whatever they need to do, whatever path they need to go down. I didn’t fall out with anyone, I cuddled everyone when I left, I shook everyone’s hands when I left. I don’t have any bad blood.”
Savage and his one Hearts regret
Another factor was the impact the role was having on his family life. An all-encompassing position, Savage was responsible for some first-team matters, the B and womens’ teams, recruitment and the academy among other things.
That led to a busy life and he was often taking phone calls at home rather than spending time with his family. That is why he is comfortable with his decision – but he still holds one regret from his spell – that Hearts didn’t win a trophy when he was there.
“Every day I had something different to deal with,” he said. “It got to a point where I felt as though I was everybody’s problem solver and people weren’t solving my problems when I had difficult conversations and difficult things to do.
“I was dealing with the training ground, contracts, staff contracts and negotiations, equipment, the women’s team, getting flats sorted, making sure the academy was up to speed. I had to deal with all of that 24/7.
“Speak to my wife, I was becoming a d**k. I was going home at night and was on my phone 24/7, texting, calling, WhatsApping, emailing. I’d be telling my kids to shut the door, keep quiet, saying to my wife I need to take this call or I need to do this. I was becoming someone I didn’t want to become. That made my decision a lot easier. I didn’t want to be that person who is always on their phone.
“I did it for three and a half years, I feel as if I did a good job but I just knew it was the right time to leave. The only thing that will leave me gutted for the rest of my life is we didn’t win a trophy. We created a strong enough squad.”