Heart of Midlothian is on the verge of making Scottish football history by appointing former Scotland head coach Shelley Kerr as their first technical development manager.
This groundbreaking move - which is expected to be confirmed within the next 24 hours according to The Guardian - will see the 55-year-old become the first woman to hold such a key position at a major Scottish Premiership club.
Kerr’s primary responsibility will focus on the development of male players, overseeing their transition from the academy to the first team.
She will also assist the Hearts B team and oversee the development of coaches at Oriam.
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Kerr led Scotland to the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France and held the position between 2017 and 2020. She left as a result of the national team failing to quality for UEFA Women's Euro 2021.
Since then, she's held a role with the English FA and also made sporadic punditry appearances on BBC Sportscene, Rangers TV and Premier Sports.
“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,” Kerr commented after being officially unveiled on Wednesday morning.
“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.”
Sporting director Graeme Jones added: “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.”
