One of the secrets of Jamestown Analytics' success in their work in football is just how secretive they are. 

When Heart of Midlothian announced the partnership last week the club statement described the company as a "world-leading football data analysis firm". But very few people actually know the intricacies and specifics that make Jamestown such a success in its field.

Not even Neil Critchley, the Hearts head coach who will be looking to benefit from their expertise. 

“It means that we can use their knowledge and expertise in terms of how we prepare for games, opposition analysis, how we benchmark our own performances post-match and also for recruitment, which we're hoping will be really beneficial to us, he said. “It's quite exciting.

“I'm used to working with analytics and data before and I know how it can help and what a big aid it can be. It's a big announcement, fantastic for the football club and hopefully it plays a big part in what we do and our processes working forward.

“They have their process of how they work which they don't share with everyone and rightly so because I'm sure it costs an awful amount of money and there's a lot of people working for them so they're going to be protective of it but they tell you enough so we can use it to our benefit. 

“My workings with it or seeing of it so far is it's very simple they tell you what you need to know. Data can blind you. I've seen certain things in the past where you get a lot of numbers, a lot, a lot of numbers and it's very hard to see the wood from the trees so to speak. They simplify it for you so it becomes football user-friendly.”

For fans, they will hope the simplicity unearths an attacker or two that will help the team become a greater threat in the final third. So far the team have underperformed in front of goal. 

The analytics, as well as aiding in the team’s pre-match preparations, are already being used for January. 

“It becomes part of your process for the identification of players,” Critchley explained. “First of all you've got to have your way of playing and what you're looking for in those players that you're looking to recruit in the positions. 

“Then they're part of that process in identifying those types of players but also you have to understand that it's part of the process, it's not everything. What data doesn't tell you is the character of players, their personalities. Are they adaptable to the league and what's their family situation? That's where the human side, the human element, and that stuff comes into play as well.

“Not everyone that we're going to identify is going to be affordable or gettable it also comes down sometimes to availability.”

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According to its managing director Justin Said, Jamestown is "very selective about the clubs we want to work with".

Hearts will have exclusive access to the analysis within Scottish football and will join a stable of upwardly mobile clubs that have been benefitting from the organisation's expertise.

Brighton, of course, are the most notable of those clubs, which also includes Serie A side Como and Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium.

"The fact that, if you like, they've chosen Hearts, I think that's a big thing for the football club I think that's something that we should be very proud of as a club," Critchley said.

"It's obviously in its infancy, it's only just been announced and we as a staff need to understand how to use it to our benefit and it might not be evident immediately, but you hope over a period of time that it certainly plays a big part in pushing this club forward.

"Where Brighton were and where they are now is incredible. If you look at the clubs that his company has been involved with, they've all progressed and taken steps forward.

"It's not just about recruitment, you've also got many other things right as well. Your facilities, your environment, your staffing, it plays a part, an important part.

"!It's not everything, it's not the be-all and end-all, but it also can give you maybe an advantage in certain areas of your daily working life, your processes, which you hope will benefit the club in the future."