Hearts' downfall won't fully satisfy Hibs fans

Chris Tait
Saturday 22 June 2013

Hearts are being made to wash their dirty laundry in public but it is unlikely the club will be too worried about the neighbours seeing.

The cost of administration this week forced 14 non-playing staff to be made redundant and the Tynecastle side are so enfeebled that its survival is incumbent on funds from a further 3000 season tickets being drip-fed into the club. Even that might only allow them to cling on until the start of the new season.

"I think if you ask Hearts fans then nine out of 10 will say 'Aye, we've won two cups and had all those happy days with all those players we couldn't afford.' Fans don't really care about the budgets and balancing books; they never do," said Collins, who was speaking at Clyde's Broadwood Stadium to help promote the Bank of Scotland Midnight League programme, which is now in its 10th year. "They want the best players on the pitch and a team winning week-in, week-out. But if every club did it then there would be no teams left in Scotland – they would all be bankrupt. But it's a shame for Hearts."

Such sympathy will perhaps hold little value for fans of the Tynecastle side, though, not least as Collins spent the 2006/07 season attempting to wrestle control of the city over to Leith. "Everyone knew at the time that the wages we were paying and the wages they were paying were miles apart," said Collins. "I said at the time that it would only be a matter of time before it all came back to haunt them. You can only bring in so much money with a 14,000 crowd and from the television money, but what they were paying on salaries was unsustainable. It has caught up with them and I feel for the players, the supporters, because it is going to be a tough period for them now."

The future of Hearts may yet come to rest in the hands of fans; the Foundation of Hearts consortium having last night stated that it has the requisite finance to bid for the stricken club. "As long as the fans' group know how to run a business, and as long as they don't try to run the football side of things then fine," added Collins. "Things have got to change. Hopefully if fans do take over then it will be run on a sound business model, and fairly."

Taken from the Herald