Former Pompey, Bournemouth, and Cardiff City figure lands job at top-flight club
Scottish Premiership club Hibs have recruited a former Pompey strategist ahead of the January transfer window.
The Scottish Premiership side have appointed Garvan Stewart as their new head of recruitment. He makes the move to Easter Road, having spent the last 12-years working at AFC Bournemouth, both as a head of performance and head of recruitment analysis in the last year.
The 38-year-old will now be tasked with working alongside former Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay in identifying new players for the Edinburgh club. Hibs find themselves second from bottom in the league, and so Stewart will have to get things right to help turn the fortunes of the club around.
Stewart worked as an analyst under Steve Cotterill and Michael Appleton. Alongside Cotterill, they turned around the fortunes around of striker David Nugent who had struggled following his £6 million move from Preston North End.
They analysed his finishing from a one-on-one situation and instructed him to change his shooting style. He would go on to score 13 goals in 48 appearances in the Championship, having only scored six in his first two seasons, albeit that was when Pompey were a Premier League club.
Stewart first began sports analysis with the Football Association of Wales and Cardiff City in 2006. He fronted up Pompey's analysis team for two years, having joined them in July 2008. Amid uncertainty following Pompey’s relegation to League One in 2012, he left to take up a post at the Vitality Stadium, and had been there ever since.
The Irishman during his time with AFC Bournemouth worked closely with Eddie Howe, who led them the Cherries from the third tier to the Premier League. Bill Foley's Black Knight consortium have a 25% stake in Hibs, and so the two clubs have a working relationship.
"It's great to be able to bring someone of Garvan’s calibre to the football club," Mackay said during the announcement of Stewart’s move.
"He's been part of a highly successful recruitment team at AFC Bournemouth and will add real experience and guile to our player identification department.
"Garvan's expertise in data and analysis, and his knowledge of Bournemouth's and Black Knight's systems will be invaluable for us and will hugely enhance our recruitment process and strategy. I'm looking forward to having him on board."