Hearts administration: Hearts ‘can be profitable’

Hearts joint-administrator Trevor Birch insists there is no reason why the Tynecastle club cannot become a successful ­profit-making business.

Under Vladimir Romanov, whose eight-year reign ended when the club plunged into administration, Hearts’ debt peaked at £36 million in 2007.

But with the club pulling in average crowds of around 13,000 for home games, Birch, reckons Hearts can be competitive on and off the pitch.

He said: “It should be a no-brainer to run Hearts properly. Hopefully in the future it should be a no-brainer because the cost base is at a level that the revenues can support. It’s a shame it has come to this when it had the ability to be sustainable with 13,000 people coming through the turnstiles. You could run the business properly without having to go crazy. There is sufficient revenue to have a decent team and have some fun with it.”