Michael Stewart reckons Hearts are WRONG to ignore Scottish managers as they look to find Steven Naismith’s successor.
The Jambos sacked Naismith on September 22 following their winless start to the season and currently have Liam Fox in as interim boss as they conduct the process of finding a new permanent man.
Intriguingly, Tynecastle chiefs will be using data analytics to help identify the best candidates. Brighton chairman Tony Bloom also owns two analytics companies which have helped the Seagulls and Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise, where he also owns a stake, revolutionise their recruitment.
Bloom is in talks to provide investment to Hearts and also allow them use of his data algorithm and could eventually become a minority shareholder. While a deal is yet to be included, the Jam Tarts have been granted access to the algorithm for their manager search.
CEO Andrew McKinlay previously gave an update on that and admitted it was unlikely the appointment would come from within the world of Scottish football.
Hearts are wrong to ignore Scottish managerial talent
But former captain turned pundit Michael Stewart reckons they may be wrong to ignore managerial talent in this country. While he admits it is correct to cast the net far and wide, he insists there are candidates in this country worth looking at.
Speaking on Premier Sports’ Scottish Football Social Club, he said: “When I’m talking about Derek McInnes, and I’ve mentioned other names as I was on here talking about Rydstrom from Malmo and Knutsen from Bodo/Glimt, I just feel there is no point in ruling anything out in terms of ‘oh, we’re going in another direction’ and to say that it won’t be a Scottish manager.
“What you’re basically saying is you don’t think anybody in Scotland is good enough. If David Moyes was wanting the Hearts job, would they give it to David Moyes? I think quite clearly they would.
“So what they’re basically saying is they don’t feel anybody operating in Scotland at the moment is good enough. I would disagree, I think there are people who can do that job.
“But what they should also be applauded for is using the technlogy avaulable to go and cast the net far and wide to try and fine somebody that might be available, unearthing a bit of a gem.”
Hearts taking a risk with manager search
He went on: “But that comes with a big amount of risk and I just feel that at the moment Hearts need stability. And they’ve tried this before by the way. Daniel Stendel was a left-field appointment and he was an absolute disaster. Ian Cathro was a left-field appointment and he was a disaster.
“So it’s not as if this is a novel thing. Yes they’re using analytics now but I’m a little bit concerned that I’ve heard a lot of chat that the new sporting director Graeme Jones is talking to David Weir, he’s talking to Richard Hughes.
“But, ultimately, Richard Hughes and David Weir are not making the decisions for Hearts. We can all go and speak to people in football but ultimately it’s the person in that position that makes the call. I’m just concerned that when it comes to footballing decisions, they’ve made a lot of bad ones.”