Monday 8 February 2016 07:44, UK
Hearts owner Ann Budge has reported an improvement in the financial affairs of the Scottish Premiership club.
Budge took control of the financially stricken Edinburgh side in early 2014 with Hearts facing the prospect of liquidation, and has since oversaw a major restructure at Tynecastle.
On the pitch, Hearts bounced back to the top flight under director of football Craig Levein and manager Robbie Neilson at the first attempt following relegation, largely down to a 15-point deduction for entering administration in June 2013.
Neilson's side lie third in the Premiership and face Edinburgh rivals Hibernian in the fifth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup early next month.
And Budge is delighted with developments at Tynecastle thanks in part to the efforts of the Foundation of Hearts, who rallied supporters to save the Jambos from liquidation.
Writing on the club's website, she said: "Given that we are now more than halfway through our financial year (December 31, 2015), and indeed our football season, it seems a good time to issue a brief progress statement on club performance. I will also take this opportunity to address a couple of issues that have been very much to the fore in recent weeks.
"I am delighted to be able to report that on the "business" side of things, we are making good progress and have had an excellent first half year.
"Thanks, as ever, to the magnificent support from the fans, we have enjoyed home sell-outs for almost all of our league matches this season, along with record-breaking figures in our various hospitality suites.
"This translates into real income for the club, and in turn is helping us fund the continuous improvements we are trying to put in place."
One issue of concern to Budge is the conduct of a section of the Hearts support though, and the club's figurehead has made it clear the club will crackdown on troublemakers.
Budge said: "We have made it clear over the past 18 months that unacceptable behavior will not be tolerated by the club and have indeed gone so far as to ban a number of our supporters from the stadium.
"We have stressed repeatedly that we want Tynecastle to be a family-friendly stadium where all supporters can come and enjoy the atmosphere in one of Scotland's most iconic stadiums, in a safe and carefree environment.
"It was, therefore, with much regret that for the third time this season, we had to call the Police, in this case to the Hearts v Motherwell game, due to rival fans fighting in the streets, in the immediate environs of the stadium, both before and after the game.
"I cannot begin to tell you how angry this makes me, when we are working so hard to put the club back at the heart of the community.
"Instead of talking proudly about the team's superb performance, or indeed our supporters' unprecedented loyalty (yet another home sell-out), I am instead having to hold meetings with the authorities regarding how we are going to address this behaviour problem."
