Heart of Midlothian Appoints Shelley Kerr to Men’s Technical Development Role

Shelley Kerr, who previously served as head coach for Scotland Women and led them to the 2019 Women’s World Cup, has been appointed as the technical development manager for Heart of Midlothian. In this capacity, the 55-year-old will exclusively engage with the club’s male players, concentrating on facilitating their progression from the academy and B team ranks to the senior first team. Kerr, whose tenure as head of the women’s national team spanned from 2017 to 2020, is also slated to support Angus Beith, the newly appointed B team head coach. She stated, “I would like to thank [sporting director] Graeme [Jones], the football department and the board for the opportunity to work in such an important role at the club.” Kerr added, “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.” Her background includes experience in men’s football, stemming from her period leading the team at Stirling University. Following 15 months at the helm of Arsenal’s women’s team, she spent three seasons with the Lowland League club prior to assuming her role with Scotland. She guided Scotland to the 2019 World Cup, but departed in December 2020 after the team did not qualify for Euro 2021. In May 2021, Kerr was named the technical lead for England Women’s ‘how we play’ coaching strategy. Sporting director Jones commented, “Shelley’s extensive experience and skill set is ideally suited to this new role.” He further elaborated, “She will have an overview of the talent pipeline – of coaches as well as players – but fundamentally the job is to make the route towards the first team clearer for those on the journey.” Jones also highlighted, “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.”