Hearts 'quality won't suffer' despite quest to beat debt

The Tynecastle outfit announced plans on Monday to wipe 10 million off their 34.78m arrears as part of a debt-for-equity proposal from parent company UBIG, a plan that will save 500,000 in annual interest payments.

This follows a similar scheme in 2008 when owner Vladimir Romanov invested 12m.

The level of the club's debt can be partly blamed on vast salaries on players, most notably during Romanov's first full season when Hearts finished second in the SPL and won the Scottish Cup.

The departure of Jose Goncalves - who earned a reported 12,000 per week - and the likes of Laryea Kingston and Christian Nade during the summer marked a turning point in their return to a prudent approach.

However, Fedotovas, Romanov's trusted right-hand man, has vowed that the quality of the side won't be compromised.

He said: "We are looking to make the business more efficient, but this will not compromise the quality that we see on the pitch.

"We must take careful steps to make sure this does not happen. I am looking forward to seeing good results and for everyone to be working hard for the team.

"The club tried to be competitive for a number of years in the SPL, but this cost the club a lot of money. The plan is to return to profitability and this is achievable. We can see this happen, there are a lot of exercises we can look at to put Hearts back on a profitability track.

"As part of these measures, I hope we can return to profit quicker. We will see how we are placed after the club announces its latest set of financial results; it will become clearer then.

"We see opportunities to reduce the debt, but it's also about making the club more efficient at the same time."

Taking into account a 2m loan Romanov paid to SMG in 2006, the banker's contribution to cutting the debt will stand at 24m once the latest debt-for-equity plans are passed at next month's egm.

But Fedotovas is keen to stress that Hearts are not the only recipients of Romanov's investment - insisting the Scottish economy has also benefited. He added: "Over recent years there has been a substantial investment in the club from its Lithuanian owners and that takes into account strengthening the squad.

"A healthy and strong Hearts is a big benefit for the club, Scottish football, for the city and for the economy as well.

"In the last five years, we have paid just under 25m in taxes so our investment does not just benefit Hearts, it benefits the whole economy.

"I would like to emphasise the level of investment in the club. I don't think this can be understated in any way.It's a benefit to the club, the supporters and Edinburgh's economy."

Hearts are also wary of new Uefa regulations from next season that could see club's punished if they don't at least break even over a three-year cycle, but Fedotovas insists that's not the driving factor in their bid to address the balance sheets.

He added: "We are doing all of these things to ensure that the club is nearing profitability. It's not so much the Uefa regulations that concern us; we have our own business sense and it's something that is our target.

"I think as soon as we can return to profitability then we can look to minimise the debt like every business does when it borrows."