We’ve tried foreigners.. now let’s try Hearts FAN

KENNY MacDONALD

JIMMY SANDISON reckons Hearts should FORGET about investors from abroad — and find some local heroes instead.

The crisis club have been linked with backers from the USA and Scandinavia.

But none have broken cover and Sandison says the club need to find Edinburgh-based backers to help ease their financial mess.

Jambos fan Sandison spent seven years on the books at the club and feels the pain of the club’s current plight as keenly as every supporter.

The former defender admitted: “It’s easy to say Vladimir Romanov should go and I think the majority of supporters would like that.

“But what no one knows is whether or not it would be right for the club.

“I think most of all what everyone is looking for is a clean break, a fresh start and to put the uncertainty behind everyone.

“I know there has been various people linked but you are sceptical about Americans and Scandinavians.

“The majority of the fans just want Edinburgh-based Hearts ownership — that would tick all the boxes.

“The worry about someone abroad is that they don’t have as much passion as someone who’s actually here.

“The danger is that it could be the same scenario all over again.

“If anything is to be learned from the past few years, it’s that it is maybe an idea to try and get someone based here who supports and loves the club.

“This isn’t just about Hearts. People have to learn lessons.

“The bottom line is that football has been haemorrhaging money for many years now. Businesses can’t work that way so they have to cut their cloth accordingly.”

Sandison knows that administration is set to be announced today — but reckons that could be the preferred option. He admitted: “People I’ve been speaking to say administration is the way the club’s going to go.

“But if we have to go under to come back up again, then so be it.

“If you ask the majority of fans they’d probably say ‘Okay, let’s start with a clean sheet’.

“It’s all speculation at present. But the supporters just want someone to sort something out and move the club in the right direction and to run the business properly.

“I’d never blame the players — it’s a short career and they’re entitled to make as much money as they can.

“But the business has to be run properly. If there’s too much going out and not enough going in then it’s going to be a sinking ship.

“It’s an unbelievably uncertain time and there’s real worry for the future of the club.

“Nobody has any answers and we just hope something can be resolved very quickly.

“But it’s a worrying time if you’re a Hearts supporter.

“However, the one thing that has been steady throughout all this is support from the fans.

“I do hospitality duties at home games and speak to a lot of supporters and they will support the club through thick and thin. They have been asked to donate before and they’re going to be asked again.

“It’s sometimes a wee bit unfair to keep asking them to put their hands in their pockets but it seems like it is the only way forward at the moment. And I’ve no doubt they’ll do it.”

Sandison — who joined ex-Hibs and Jambos stars to form a team at the Edinburgh Football Festival — even says there’s a case for the Scottish Government getting involved in how football clubs are run.

He said: “It seems unfair that a club can go into administration and they get an embargo and points deducted.

“That just seems to be hitting people when they’re on the way down.

“But something has to be done to try and safeguard the future of this brilliant game. We’ve seen Rangers dropping out of the top flight.

“Okay, they weren’t running their club in a sound financial manner and that’s the bottom line — any business will go out of business if they don’t run things properly.

“But if the governing bodies can do anything to assist them I believe they have a duty to do so.”