Hearts today appointed Academy chief John Murray as the club's Director of Football.

In his role as Academy Director, John has overseen the development of some of the country's top stars such as Craig Gordon, Christophe Berra, Lee Wallace, Eggert Jonsson, David Templeton and Andrew Driver.

His expanded position will now see him heavily involved in the recruitment and transfer process across the whole club, from the youths through to the senior team. He will also have a remit which will include maximising the development of all players at Hearts.

Speaking exclusively to Hearts News following his appointment, the Northern Irishman said: "Having been involved with Hearts for so long, it is a great honour to be appointed Director of Football and I am really looking forward to the challenges ahead.

"The club is currently embarking on a transformational phase which will lead to a number of our brightest prospects graduating into the first team squad in due course. This transition, though, has to be carefully managed and the work of Darren Murray, Gary Locke and the manager will be paramount. I hope that the supporters will also understand that this progression will be a continual process and will not happen overnight."

John was chief scout at Cowdenbeath and Falkirk before arriving at Tynecastle in season 1995-96 when he worked part-time as the club's head of youth development and chief scout.

He was appointed Academy Director in 2004.

Club director Sergejus Fedotovas said: "John has played an integral part in the development of our very successful Academy system and we are pleased that he has accepted this extended role.

"The club is going through a transformation and John's knowledge, experience and commitment will allow us to shape the football club in the seasons ahead. We have some very good young players and with the right mix of senior players we can become the entertaining, enterprising and youthful team we strive to be."

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On HeartsTV today, Darren Murray with an exclusive progress report on the U19s plus weekend post match reaction from Paulo Sergio.