Stand to be pulled down

HEARTS today revealed they hope to get the go-ahead next month to demolish the main stand at Tynecastle.

Chairman Roman Romanov has been working closely with Edinburgh City Council over recent weeks - the latest in a series of meetings took place on Thursday - and the club is now poised to submit a request for outline planning permission.

Principal shareholder Vladimir Romanov has made it clear he wants Hearts to remain in their spiritual home of Gorgie and targeted redeveloping the crumbling main stand as a priority.

He is now hopeful of receiving the green light within a matter of weeks to begin the demolition process.

"Discussions on the matter of the main stand are ongoing with the council," said a Hearts spokesperson. "The club is very keen for approval of outline planning permission to progress to the stage of architects' detailed planning which will give the club the opportunity to commence work at the end of the season."

The ideal scenario would see bulldozers roll into Gorgie in May with the intention of having the new state-of-the-art stand - and a stadium with an increased capacity - in place for season 2007-2008.

"We will continue to work with the council as we want to get things started as soon as we can and are very, very keen to get the process underway," added the spokesperson.

"Hopefully we will get that outline planning permission within the next two to three weeks and the ball can start rolling."

Once it is clear that the work can start, the club will then have to decide where games for season 2006-07 are to be played.

Murrayfield, the venue for the Jambos' epic UEFA Cup adventure in the group stages of the competition last season, remains a likely scenario, although staying at Tynecastle while the construction work is carried out has not been ruled out, subject to safety regulations being met.

"We have a good working relationship with the Scottish Rugby Union and will be having detailed discussions with them in due course about the possibility of playing at Murrayfield," the spokesperson said.

"But Tynecastle is still an option as well and no decision on that subject has been made."

Meanwhile, head coach Graham Rix has praised the Hearts players for their response since he arrived in Edinburgh, commenting that the club's title challenge will continue.

"The players have been fantastic. Really, each and every one of their responses has been brilliant and I think we have a group of lads who have the ability to keep right on the tails of Celtic."

Taken from the Scotsman