STUART BATHGATE

PHIL Anderton, the former chief executive of Hearts, is seeking a minimum of £112,000 from the club for terminating his contract. That sum has been the focal point of discussion between lawyers representing both parties, but has yet to become the subject of a court action.

Scotland on Sunday reported yesterday that Anderton was "set to sue" his ex-employers, and, while that is a possibility, an out-of-court settlement would be preferable to both parties. Anderton's claim was acknowledged in the offer to shareholders in Hearts posted out by the club at the end of last week.

"On 31 October 2005, the employment of former chief executive of Hearts, Phil Anderton, was terminated by Hearts," Page 69 of the report read. "Through his legal advisors, Phil Anderton has intimated claims by way of compensation for such termination of approximately £112,000 together with an unspecified sum in respect of bonus amounts. No agreement has been reached between Hearts and Mr Anderton in respect of such claim."

Anderton had only spent eight months in his job at Hearts, which he took up after a spell out of work following his resignation from the Scottish Rugby Union, where he was also chief executive. He had apparently succeeded in his main short-term aims for Hearts, having taken the sale of season tickets to a record high, and helped attendances go up with a different pricing policy. Anderton's dismissal by the Lithuanian-dominated board of Hearts followed the "mutually agreed" departure of the manager, George Burley, a decision with which he disagreed. Anderton also disagreed with the Hearts majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov on other matters, and when the matter of his sacking came to a vote, he and his Scottish colleagues on the board, George Foulkes and Stewart Fraser, were outvoted by Romanov's Lithuanian appointees. Foulkes was forced out as chairman at the same meeting.

It is understood that after Anderton had left the meeting, the directors agreed that there had been no basis for sacking him. In such circumstances, it was suggested that he be paid the remainder of his contract - the £112,000 he is claiming is owed to him.

The bonuses to which Anderton might be entitled are harder to quantify. It has not been revealed how long he would have to successfully meet his targets for bonus payments to apply.

Anderton was not at yesterday's Remembrance Service at the Heart of Midlothian War Memorial in Edinburgh. Past and present members of the club's hierarchy paid their respects at Haymarket. Supporters and members of the public crowded around the memorial, where they heard of the sacrifice of the Hearts, Falkirk and Raith Rovers players who volunteered for the 16th Royal Scots - also referred to as McCrae's Battalion - at the start of the First World War. Seven of the Hearts contingent lost their lives.

Vladimir Romanov, a former submariner with the Russian navy, did not attend yesterday's service but his family was represented by his son Roman, the chairman and acting chief executive of Hearts, who laid a wreath at the memorial. Romanov junior's boardroom colleague Stewart Fraser was also in attendance, as were former chairmen George Foulkes and Leslie Deans.

Club coach John McGlynn and captain Steven Pressley led a contingent of first-team players, including Scotland internationals Craig Gordon and Andy Webster.

Hibernian, whose supporters joined up in substantial numbers when McCrae raised the 16th, were represented by legendary striker Lawrie Reilly, who laid one of the many floral tributes.

Taken from the Scotsman