Chief executive Andrew McKinlay says there is “no way to sugarcoat” Hearts’ failure to reach the Scottish Premiership’s top six.
McKinlay said he was “confident” the Tynecastle side would finish in the top half back in December, but Saturday’s goalless draw at Motherwell allowed St Mirren to snatch the final spot.
That has prompted intense criticism from the Hearts support and McKinlay has issued an apology to the disgruntled fanbase.
“Like everyone else I’m absolutely gutted by it,” the Hearts CEO said. “There’s no way to sugarcoat it. It’s really important I apologise to the fans.
“It’s well below their expectations and our expectations as a club to be in the bottom six. I was ridiculed by some for saying I was confident we’d make top six. They can ridicule me now if they feel that’s appropriate.
“As chief executive I take my share of the blame for that. We need to knuckle down and make sure we don’t have a repeat of that in the future.”
McKinlay pointed to the side’s “inability to take our chances” and stressed the importance of improving the team’s mindset.
Neil Critchley’s men will be aiming to bounce back when they travel to Hampden on Saturday to face Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup last four.
“We need to get a mentality into the team that they are up for these big games,” McKinlay added. “We’ve got no bigger game than the one coming up at the weekend.
“It’s a huge opportunity for the team to prove their doubters wrong and I sincerely hope they do that.”
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13 minutes ago
Chief executive Andrew McKinlay says there is “no way to sugarcoat” Hearts’ failure to reach the Scottish Premiership’s top six.
McKinlay said he was “confident” the Tynecastle side would finish in the top half back in December, but Saturday’s goalless draw at Motherwell allowed St Mirren to snatch the final spot.
That has prompted intense criticism from the Hearts support and McKinlay has issued an apology to the disgruntled fanbase.
“Like everyone else I’m absolutely gutted by it,” the Hearts CEO said. “There’s no way to sugarcoat it. It’s really important I apologise to the fans.
“It’s well below their expectations and our expectations as a club to be in the bottom six. I was ridiculed by some for saying I was confident we’d make top six. They can ridicule me now if they feel that’s appropriate.
“As chief executive I take my share of the blame for that. We need to knuckle down and make sure we don’t have a repeat of that in the future.”
McKinlay pointed to the side’s “inability to take our chances” and stressed the importance of improving the team’s mindset.
Neil Critchley’s men will be aiming to bounce back when they travel to Hampden on Saturday to face Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup last four.
“We need to get a mentality into the team that they are up for these big games,” McKinlay added. “We’ve got no bigger game than the one coming up at the weekend.
“It’s a huge opportunity for the team to prove their doubters wrong and I sincerely hope they do that.”
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