Budge sets Hearts on promotion to get back £1m a year
HEARTS majority shareholder Ann Budge has highlighted the importance of bouncing straight back into the Premiership after revealing that being out of the top flight costs the club at least £1million a season. Budge addressed Hearts’ 108th annual general meeting yesterday and, although most of the financial figures pointed to the club heading in the right direction, the self-made IT millionaire admitted that getting back to Scottish football’s top tier was essential for the longterm health of the business. Hearts supporter Budge and fans’ group the Foundation of Hearts joined forces to lift the troubled Gorgie outfit out of a year-long administration process in June. It has been a fairytale start, with Robbie Neilson’s side nine points clear at the Championship summit with a game in hand, and Budge admits promotion is the priority. ‘What’s the biggest challenge facing Hearts? If I didn’t say getting promoted I would probably get slated for it,’ she said. ‘I would have to say at the forefront of everybody’s mind is trying to ensure we do get promoted next year. ‘It’s a minimum £1m drop in revenue for being out of the Premiership, depending on where you finish. ‘It’s a big hole to fill and we do really need to get there.’ In stark contrast to recent Hearts AGMs — where fans were often left fearing for the very future of their club under the controversial Vladimir Romanov regime — there was a relaxed atmosphere among the gathering of approximately 300 shareholders yesterday. ‘I did say before I went in that if we didn’t have a good AGM this year then I would never have one,’ added Budge. ‘Things are going well, so of course it was jovial.’ Spirits would be raised further, of course, should the upward curve continue and, with the team excelling on the park and the finances under control off it, Budge admitted she is targeting a return to European football within two years. ‘In terms of planning ahead and looking at aspirations for the club, we are quite bullish although realistic,’ she added. ‘I see no reason at all why we shouldn’t be striving in the next couple of seasons to get back into Europe because I think that’s where we belong as a club.’ Neilson, who replaced Gary Locke during the summer, has not looked back since taking his place in the dugout, winning three out of four Championship Manager of the Month awards in his first season as a head coach. He received glowing praise from his boss, too, who admitted she expects the former defender to ultimately move on from Tynecastle. ‘I think he’s amazing,’ said Budge, who stated money is available to add new players during the January transfer window. ‘I think he has a fantastic career ahead of him. ‘I am a realist but I would love to hold on to him for an indefinite period. In reality, he will move on to a bigger club, I don’t doubt that. But what we have been talking about, from before he even got the job, was essentially succession planning. ‘If he was to go tomorrow, it would give us perhaps a bit of a challenge but I don’t think that will happen. ‘But when it is the right time for Robbie to go, I hope we as a club will be ready to backfill, as the term goes.’ Budge was also asked by a shareholder whether she planned to take any action after the recent Scottish Cup defeat to Celtic was plagued by off-field problems. After last month’s tie, she condemned the away fans for vandalising nearly 100 seats at the Gorgie venue and also expressed disappointment in supporters from both sides participating in sectarian abuse. Budge admitted Hearts could look to cut Celtic’s usual 3,500-ticket allocation. She added: ‘I think we all agree that the kind of behaviour that was on display was completely unacceptable. I do have to say there was a little bit of that on the Hearts side. ‘I’ve had many emails saying that unless you do something you won’t have any Hearts fans at the Celtic game. I do know it’s a serious issue.’
THE meeting also heard that a life-size bronze statue is to be erected at Tynecastle to commemorate Hearts players who fought in McCrae’s Battalion during the Great War.