Hearts have confirmed Shelley Kerr as their new Technical Development Manager.
It had been reported yesterday that Hearts were set to appoint Kerr in a development role, working with male players in a groundbreaking move.
The former Scotland Women’s manager has also bossed Kilmarnock, Hibs, Arsenal and the University of Stirling before working in a similar development role for the English FA.
New Tynecastle sporting director Graeme Jones will have a key focus on developing more young players for the first-team and has drafted the 55-year-old in to help him with that.
Hearts confirm Kerr role
Hearts have now announced the Kerr appointment on their website this morning.
She will assist new B team manager Angus Beith with some coaching but her duties at the club will be wide-ranging and will also work with the under-18s.
Her primary responsibility will be to assists young players with the move from academy football into first-team level.
New sporting director Graeme Jones, who officially started this week, has explained the rationale behind bringing Kerr in.
Jones said: “Shelley’s extensive experience and skill set is ideally suited to this new role at the club and I look forward to working with her to harness the development pathway leading to the first team.
“She will support Angus from a coaching perspective with the B Team but her remit will be far more wide-ranging, from 18s through to B Team.
“She will have an overview of the talent pipeline – of coaches as well as players – but fundamentally the job of Technical Development Manager is to make the route towards the first team clearer for those on the journey.
“As well as her coaching experience and UEFA Pro Licence, what made Shelley stand out was the work undertaken with the English FA in taking the principle of a high-performance environment and implementing key physical, tactical and technical strategies and objectives.”
Kerr’s first Hearts words
Kerr grew up a Hearts supporter and is excited to be joining the club in such an important role.
Giving her first words since the appointment, she said: “Firstly, I would like to thank Graeme, the football department and the board at Heart of Midlothian for the opportunity to work in such an important role at the club.
“I am fortunate to have undertaken a variety of leadership roles across men’s and women’s football since I retired as a player and I am excited to bring the accumulation of that knowledge and experience to Heart of Midlothian”