Hearts slam STV over administration claim

Hearts have reacted angrily to claims made by STV that club staff have been warned about the likelihood of administration.

Yesterday the club issued the following reply on their website quoting a club spokesman: “We are sickened and disgusted by such unsubstantiated content.

“Articles such as this which have no factual basis, show a complete ignorance of the facts and reflect very badly on the profession of journalism.

“It is a straightforward shameless act to destabilise the club and we will consider applying for legal advice to seek justice and damages for the business.”

After initially making a big impact for digging behind the headlines the STV website has lost credibility as it searched for a more populist audience to match the approach of it’s television news service.

While Mark Daly exposed Craig Whyte on BBC the former billionaire from Motherwell was given a fawning interview by the commercial channel. STV News did break the story of Whyte putting Rangers into liquidation before the sports department applied their positive spin to the matter.

That approach has been continued with STV the preferred and unquestioning broadcasting outlet for Charles Green and his constant claims about Sevco quitting Scotland with Celtic inevitably tagged in to give the story some sort of credibility.

The Hearts statement added: “I would like to reassure supporters of the club that the board of Hearts’ focus is entirely on this club and continuing the work that has allowed us to be within touching distance of having a self-sustainable business.

“This then allows us to truly develop the club both on and off the field in the seasons ahead. It is a work in progress at the moment but we are satisfied with the progress being made.

“It is also right to acknowledge that one of the principle reasons for us being unaffected at this stage by events in Lithuania is the excellent support that the fans and staff have provided to the club. With this continued support and ongoing diligence by the club’s board of directors we believe that there is no threat to Hearts.”

With Sevco losing £1m a month and no sign of commercial deals better than those inherited from the old club it could be that the next club facing administration are a lot closer to home for STV than Gorgie Road.

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