Hearts owner Ann Budge won’t budge on her plan for Tynecastle

Ann Budge hasn’t needed long as Hearts owner to discover the truth of the old saying: ‘It’s not all glamour’.

True, the Edinburgh businesswoman had the thrill of showing off the Championship trophy to ecstatic fans in a title-winning lap of honour last week.

At the same time, however, a sizable chunk of her first year has been taken up worrying about the lack of water in the Main Stand toilets!

And as she eyes her eventual handover of power to the supporters, she reveals she wants a re-built stadium on its present site to be her legacy.

A ground which can welcome thousands more fans through the door and offers increased hospitality options.

Most importantly, a new home where supporters will feel right at home Tynecastle.

Budge revealed: “Before I got involved with football, I had heard all the discussions about Tynecastle.

“I would sit there in my ivory tower and think the answer is obvious: ‘Of course we need to move to a new stadium, with new facilities, do this and do that, which would be totally fit for purpose.

“‘I can’t understand why they are even faffing about with this’.

“But having been here for a year, I have heard so many people speak passionately about Tynecastle.

“And having sat in the Wheatfield Stand for years, having seen the displays like we had last week, it is clear that it is a fantastic stadium, one which creates the sort of enjoyable atmosphere we all want.

“So I have come to the point where I think there has got to be a step and the next step is going to be what can we do to keep us here?

“Yes, that does bring challenges. We have a huge problem here, with water for example.

“I’ve had feedback that on matchdays there was just no water in the toilets.

“We put hot water into the stadium, which everyone was delighted about and then I got criticism because the temperature was too hot!

“But there are some fundamentals. You will get a letter or an e-mail saying that, in this day and age, it is totally unacceptable that there is no water in the toilets.

“Of course, that’s true but maybe we haven’t known about it. Some of these problems are also very difficult to fix.

“They do take time. We can’t just produce a magic wand! But the challenges are there to be overcome.

“How do we rebuild the Main Stand in such a way where we have increased capacity and hospitality options that could end up eventually paying for itself?

“How do you actually get through the stage when you are making these changes?

“There was a great deal of dissatisfaction when we played a couple of games at Murrayfield, and we all understand why.

“But I think and I am not saying that is the solution if supporters knew it was getting done for a reason, then I think we might get a bit more by it.

“Getting to a place where, if the work has not started there is at least a very clear path and a good plan in place, would be my legacy as opposed to everything else.”