Hearts fail to pay players on time... again

Hearts players have still to receive their wages for this month, with the club blaming a costly tax row with HMRC.

The club admitted this afternoon that they did not have the funds to pay the players’ salaries, saying they were looking for ways of raising funds after failing to reach a deal to pay back a £1million tax bill.

It is unclear at this stage whether or not that will included selling players.

A club spokesperson said this afternoon that players would be paid “at the earliest opporunity”.

They added: “The club is experiencing an income shortfall due to lower than expected trasnfer monies. Our future funding is secure but requires time to be organised.

“The club also unfortunately failed to reach an agreement with HMRC which would have allowed it time to pay a tax bill in excess of £1million, that was settled in full yesterday.”

They added that the club was seeking “options to identify new income opportunities and obtain funding for the players’ salaries.”

Senior squad members had to wait 19 days for last month’s overdue wages, which were eventually paid on November 4.

Players were persuaded 24 hours earlier not to make a formal complaint to the Scottish Premier League by manager Paulo Sergio.

Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov recently revealed he is considering selling the club, which is more than £30million in debt, and expressed his reluctance to continue ploughing money into the Edinburgh outfit.