Hearts fans vote with their feet for United clash

HEARTS fans look set to snub this weekend's trip to face Dundee United at Tannadice after the club were forced to send back 800 tickets.

The Jambos travel north tomorrow looking to get their bid for Champions League qualification back on track following a damaging run of results.
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Supporters have grown increasingly disillusioned with the manner in which the club is being run in recent weeks and the departure of popular club captain Steven Pressley was the final straw for many.

The Hearts Supporters' Trust, part of the G10 group, accused owner Vladimir Romanov of turning the club into "a circus freak show" in a hard-hitting open letter this week.

And it would appear as though other fans are now also showing their disapproval at what is going on behind the scenes by voting with their feet.

Since Romanov's arrival in Scotland Hearts have carried one of the largest travelling supports in the country, although the number of tickets returned for this match is a sign that all is not well.

Tickets for the fixture are priced at £24 and £25 for adults while concessions can gain access to the ground for £13. Due to the lack of demand, United have said that they will now operate cash turnstiles for Jambos who want to travel on the day.

Hearts were unavailable for comment when the Evening News tried to contact them.

Better news for the Gorgie outfit is that French midfielder Julien Brellier is in contention for a return to action.

The Frenchman missed the Jambos' last outing at home to Aberdeen with a hamstring strain but was due to return to full training today and, as long as he suffers no adverse reaction will be named in the squad.

Brellier was outstanding in his last match for Hearts as the Tynecastle side thrashed Motherwell 4-1 in Gorgie. With Paul Hartley omitted from the starting line-up last week, Marius Zaliukas was asked to play the holding role in midfield where he looked uncomfortable.

And the return of fans' favourite Brellier would be an undoubted boost for manager Valdas Ivanauskas.

Meanwhile, it's been reported that Hearts have finally paid the remainder of Mirsad Beslija's transfer fee to Racing Genk - almost a year after the Bosnian arrived in Edinburgh.

Former manager Graham Rix splashed out a club record £850,000 to bring the highly-rated winger to Tynecastle with Hearts paying an initial installment for his services.

However, they stalled on paying the remaining £620,000, forcing Genk to turn to FIFA in a bid to resolve the dispute. But Genk finance director Filip Aerden has revealed that the fee has now been paid.

"Everything's been resolved between ourselves and Hearts and we are happy now," he said.

"We went to FIFA knowing that would put some pressure on and that seems to have worked.

"As far as we are concerned there is no longer a case.

"Now we have no more complaint against Hearts.

"We have the money ahead of the transfer window so we are happy. That's the end of the matter for us."

Taken from the Scotsman