Hearts silent on overdue payment of wages

By STUART BATHGATE
Published on 20/10/2012 00:00

HEARTS had still to confirm last night that they had paid the delayed salaries of a number of senior players and John McGlynn. Both the players and the manager had been told to expect their money yesterday, four days after it was due.

The playing staff and coaches appear more at ease with the situation now than they were last season, when there were several pay delays. Communication from the club hierarchy has improved, with the staff being more fully apprised of the financial difficulties the club has been placed in since parent company Ubig began a phased withdrawal of funding.

Earlier yesterday a Hearts spokesperson said: “We fully expect that the remaining players will be paid their October salaries this afternoon and we predict that the late payment issues are now resolved.” But by late evening there had been no confirmation of that resolution either on the club website or via other media.

The matter is due to be discussed at a Scottish Premier League board meeting on Monday. Hearts have been operating under an SPL registration embargo since their failure to pay some salaries on time last month, and even if they do give evidence that they have paid October’s salaries, they may need to prove their ability to avoid a recurrence before the ban is lifted.

Defender Andy Webster, understood to be one of the players whose salary was late this month, said yesterday that he appreciated the effort the club were making to meet their obligations. “It is not an easy situation and we all have bills to pay, but the club are trying their best to resolve the issues and you can fully accept that and understand it from their  point of view.

“There is much more transparency with the wages issue. We know there is a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes to pay the players on time.”