SPL play the waiting game

The top-flight chief executive won’t get involved in the ailing Tynecastle club’s future — especially as their own set-up for next season hasn’t been agreed.

Doncaster said: “It’s always difficult when any club faces financial stresses.

“But ultimately, any league has to fall back on its rule book, monitor the situation and apply the rules evenly. That’s what we’ll do.

“There has been no change because there has been no insolvency event within the SPL rules.

“But we know what will happen should there be an insolvency event.

“We have a firm of Lithuanian lawyers out there advising us and monitoring things for us, enabling us to look at our rules and apply them to what appears to be going on there.

“If there was an insolvency event, what would happen would depend on whether Hearts were a member of the SPL or the SPFL at the time.

“This isn’t a new situation at Hearts. It’s been ongoing for some time.”