Tynecastle chief promises cash
McKinlay insists money will be made available to Neilson to strengthen squad
HEARTS chief executive Andrew McKinlay admits money will be made available to Robbie Neilson to build a bigger squad in preparation for European and domestic football.
Neilson has been given the green-light to increase his first team personnel from 21 to 24 by the club’s board.
But with John Souttar heading to Rangers and loan players Ellis Simms, Ben Woodburn, Alex Cochrane and Taylor Moore returning to their parent clubs, the Hearts manager could end up looking for as many as eight new recruits.
Neilson has already said that he would be keen to extend Simms, Woodburn and Cochrane’s stay at Tynecastle.
European football in either the Europa League or Europa Conference League – the latter of which would be guaranteed until Christmas, would supplement Hearts’ income by around £3m.
And McKinlay admits Neilson will have more players to choose from next term.
McKinlay said: “We will need to invest in a bigger squad. It won’t just be jersey-fillers, it has to be guys good enough for the team.
“Robbie has talked about a net increase of three, taking the squad up to 24.
“We will be able to do that based on the money coming in. There is only so much you can do with your matchday income and Hearts do pretty well on that already.
“Prize money from the SPFL is what it is.
“Other things around the stadium can also get done. We hope to have this money every year but you need to be careful not to overspend, whilst also realising this is our opportunity to really kick on as Scotland’s third-biggest club.
“We want to stamp our authority on that and we would also like to close the gap on the two teams above us.
“I’m not trying to get rid of any of our players but Europe is a different marketplace.
“It puts a different value on players once they reach that level and clubs start to appreciate them more. “We’re on that hamster-wheel, now we want to stay on it.”
A shrewd recruitment drive last year led by sporting director Joe Savage laid the foundations for Hearts finishing comfortably as the third best team in the country.
However, McKinlay acknowledges that there is no guarantee every player will be a success.
Speaking to the Edinburgh Evening News, he added: “The mantra at the time was ‘quality over quantity’ and I think that was borne out.
“Joe will tell you not all signings work. There is always an element of risk. Not all of our signings have done as well as we hoped but many have.
“We now have some really great footballers on long-term contracts.
“Some of the January business we did was so important, tying up the nucleus of the team on longer deals.
“Craig Gordon, Craig Halkett, Stephen Kingsley, Barrie McKay, Andy Halliday and Michael Smith all signed extensions.
“That was massive for the club. We need to do a lot of work this summer but we have that nucleus of a team there rather than needing to constantly rebuild.”