Hearts free to sign players if wages are paid this week

The financially-stricken Gorgie club were placed under a 60-day player registration embargo following a hearing back in October after being found guilty of breaching SPL rules by not paying their staff and players as scheduled for the second consecutive month. At the time, the Tynecastle outfit could not provide assurances that future wages would be paid when due and they are continuing to struggle with cash-flow problems and budgetary shortfall. Amid the ongoing struggles, Hearts announced that “the majority of the first-team, including senior players” had agreed to defer  November’s salaries to an unspecified date, a move that avoided any further sanctions being imposed on the club by the SPL last month. However, the governing body will be keeping a keen eye on developments this week as the club’s pay day looms on the 16th. It emerged last week that Lithuania striker Arturas Rimkevicius was set to journey to Edinburgh for a trial in the coming days, with the 29-year-old claiming to have already held talks with club owner Vladimir Romanov.

Manager John McGlynn stopped short of confirming the forward’s arrival this week but, admitting players could be replaced with cheaper options in the New Year, he said at the weekend that “there’s a wee bit of work to get done first of all with the transfer embargo”. He added: “The football club will need to satisfy the SPL for that transfer embargo to be lifted.”

But the SPL yesterday confirmed that only another breach of the governing body’s regulations would prevent the signing ban from being lifted when it is due to expire in 12 days’ time. A spokesman said: “Assuming there are no further breaches of the rules, then the transfer embargo will be automatically removed on December 23 and the club will be free to sign players thereafter.”

Meanwhile, McGlynn has heaped praise on his defence after they racked up their third clean sheet in five games in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Aberdeen. With youngster Kevin McHattie filling in at full-back for the injured Danny Grainger, who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, the manager is happy with the way his backline is faring.

Following on from the 1-0 Scottish Cup defeat by Hibs and the 4-0 SPL loss to Celtic, McGlynn said: “Barring Celtic, who put in a Champions League performance against us, we’ve not been conceding very many goals. Even (against Hibs) it was a flukey goal or we would have had another clean sheet.

“Defensively, we are quite good and our goals-against column is quite good, apart from the four against Celtic. It’s a great testament to the back four – Ryan McGowan, Andy Webster, Marius Zaliukas and now Kevin McHattie, who is growing in  stature and experience.”