Pub owner to donate day’s taking towards Hearts in their bid for survival

The 28-year-old believes his big-hearted gesture will raise a small fortune and inspire other fans to go above and beyond in a bid to save the Gorgie club from an uncertain fate.

Mr Sarwar, who has been a season-ticket holder at Tynecastle for the last eight years, said he could welcome in some special VIP guests for the occasion - including the Scottish Cup trophy, which was won by Hearts in a 5-1 mauling of city rivals Hibs in May.

The cup will be paraded around the boozer from around 5pm tomorrow, while some playing staff may also make an appearance.

Mr Sarwar said: “This is obviously not an ideal situation for Hearts but deep down we have known it’s been coming for a while. As much as I’d like to say it came a shock, it’s more of a realisation of the predicament we are in.

“I think there’s enough Hearts fans out there to get through the share issue. It’s a shame we didn’t find out earlier, though, so we could have had longer to do something about it.”

Mr Sarwar said he intended to buy a stake himself – but figured he could raise even more money for Hearts by sacrificing a day’s full takings – which would then be ploughed into shares.

Customers will then be offered a chance to win the shares through a raffle.

Asked how they came up with the plan, he said: “We got together the other night and thought up ideas about what we can do to help the club in its hour of need.

“I decided that all the takings from a day’s trading would go to Hearts – not just the profit.

“I thought it would just be a normal day in the pub but with all the support it’s been getting I quickly realised it’s not going to be.

“But I’m sticking by it, and every penny earned from 1pm to 1am will go to Hearts.”

And he added: “It’s all about helping out with short-term funding. The club can only be as strong as its members so we need to put as much money as we can into it.

“People have been asking if it’s just profits being donated but it’s the full takings.

“Hopefully they won’t drink the bar dry but we have ordered in extra beer to make sure they don’t.”

A spokesman for Hearts FC said: “The gesture of Mr Sarwar epitomises the spirit which has been shown by numerous people, both Hearts fans and others, since the news broke of the club’s plight.

“It sounds like a terrific day is in store and we hope to have the Scottish Cup in attendance.”