Hearts staff are paid at last

HEARTS players and staff have received their salaries in full, ending the week-long saga which brought many to question the club's financial predicament.

Weekly-paid players had gone without money since last Friday, whilst non-footballing staff did not receive their monthly wages as normal on the 24th of the month.

The Evening News can reveal that all payments were updated today. The club blamed a technical hitch for the delay as it appeared Hearts' parent company, Ukio Bankas Investment Group, failed to deposit funds into the club's Halifax Bank of Scotland account earlier this month, causing wages payments to fail.

Lithuanian director Sergejus Fedotovas, also a high ranking UBIG official, flew to Edinburgh to alleviate concern amongst employees at Tynecastle and the situation has now been rectified. The club have not commented on reports that Fedotovas was being blamed for the error by UBIG's board of directors.

Concern grew earlier this week when players' wages failed to arrive. Hearts had promised following last Friday's payment failure that funds would be forthcoming at the beginning of the week but then had to revise that timetable and pinpointed today as the new payday.

Monthly-paid staff were informed on Tuesday that their salaries would not be in bank accounts the following day as expected. They were also given today as the day for payment.

The club maintain that day-to-day operations remain unaffected by the hitch as they prepare for tomorrow's SPL match against Dundee United at Tannadice.