TOMORROW is likely to mark the passing of an era at Hearts, and it's a full stop that many fans will be happy to see dotted at the end of what they consider to have been a very long sentence. Chris Robinson is expected to take final leave of the boardroom, but no-one should expect him to turn his back on the club.

Throughout a turbulent reign which has lasted more than a decade, he has overseen the upgrading of the stadium, the building of the sports academy, the birth of the SPL, the impact of Bosman, the coming and going of several managers, five European campaigns, three cup finals and borne the brunt of the angry, bitter demonstrations over the possible sale of Tynecastle. The man who recently sold his controlling interest to Vladimir Romanov knows he has made enemies and admits he has made mistakes, but he will never confess to regrets. And having witnessed the gradual dilution of the demonisation of his predecessor, Wallace Mercer, Robinson hopes that one day opinions of him will also mellow.

"I'm not going to live out the rest of my life waiting or hoping Hearts fans are okay with me. If that happens it would be nice, but I've had my time and am not in any way bitter.

"I'm at peace with majority of Hearts fans. A significant number probably still call me names but I think they should get along and support the team and forget the past. When the season starts on July 30 at 3pm it's Hearts that matter, not Chris Robinson. I'd be very saddened if any continued to vent their anger towards me but nothing will ever stop me watching Hearts. I think a very large number of the fans are already aware that first and foremost I am a fan. There's probably a significant number of supporters will always see me with devil's horns, but that's football and they'll have to find a new devil in the future."

"I think when you're involved in football you have to have thick skin and you have to be able to believe in your own self and what you're doing and that it's right for the club. Sometimes you have to do what's right for the business and shareholders which is direct opposition to what the supporters might want. I wouldn't say it was easy but it's not as hard as it was sometimes portrayed. And I wouldn't go as far as to say I'll miss it but you do become used to that sort of thing."

Now that the worst is over, Robinson can actually laugh about the crank death threats and hate mail (apparently new Chief Executive Phil Anderton received his first within weeks of taking over, so it's part and parcel of the job) and claims the matchday abuse rarely perturbed him. He admits the Pieman nom-de-plume was not one he enjoyed but adds he has long-since learned to live with it.

"Don't get me wrong, I believe in everyone's right to protest - Hearts fans as much as anybody - but I think you also have to believe in what the directors and business people are doing. I was punched once outside Tynecastle after an SPL meeting. I never really saw hate mail, it was largely kept from me. They are cranky type things, anyone who takes them seriously ... these sort of things never bothered me.

"Unfortunately, when you're in that position it's about keeping a tight lip and getting on with it, you can't fight back as you might like."

Try telling his wife that. When disgruntled fans brought their gripes to the doorstep of the family home, she refused to sit it out.

"The wife used to chase them from outside the house and they'd run down the road. I think only twice people came to the house and once it was wee laddies."

But one accusation did hurt: "It's a myth that somehow I made money. It would be seven figures that I've lost. You don't get into football to make money. The joke that directors tell in boardrooms is 'How do you make £5 million in football? You start with £20 million.'"

He hopes that people will one day accept that fact and sees the sports academy as his legacy. And he says he has much to be proud of, refusing to beat himself up over the undoubted errors in judgment.

"I made mistakes - I'm not someone who ever says life is perfect. The problem with mistakes is that at the time you take decisions, they're not mistakes. It's only a mistake in hindsight - at the time, you think it's the right decision."

Make no mistake about it, few, including Robinson, are disputing his decision to bow out now.

Taken from the Scotsman