McKie: I’ll be club’s Mr Fix-it

JOHN SHIELDS

GORDON McKIE insists he’s the man to lead Hearts into a new era.

The former Scottish Rugby Union chief executive heads a consortium hoping to rescue the stricken club.

McKie met with the Tynecastle club’s administrator Bryan Jackson on Thursday.

The group, said to be five or six investors, are mostly Hearts supporters based in Edinburgh and London.

He said: “Given my background in rugby and sport I know what I’m doing.

“The guys behind me are not doing it to make money, that’s the truth.

“Football clubs don’t make money. I know that sounds twee, but they are genuinely doing it because they want to save Hearts.

“If we’re putting in the lion’s share of the money we would want control in the beginning, but we are prepared to embrace supporter ownership and board participation.

“I’ve got the funding based on what we perceive to be the value of the club and we could get on with this next week.”

Hearts fans are preparing their own takeover bid for the club through the Foundation of Hearts.

McKie insists the consortium is willing to work with the FOH and he met the group’s chairman Ian Murray MP on Thursday.

He added: “I met with Ian and bounced a few ideas around with him.”