Foundation of Hearts cancellations laid bare as supporters withdraw funds in protest at running of club

Hundreds of fans have cancelled their Foundation of Hearts pledges in protest at those running the Tynecastle club.
Hearts fans protest outside Tynecastle during Saturday's match with Queen of the South. Picture: SNSHearts fans protest outside Tynecastle during Saturday's match with Queen of the South. Picture: SNS
Hearts fans protest outside Tynecastle during Saturday's match with Queen of the South. Picture: SNS

Manager Robbie Neilson is under tremendous pressure following a week in which a 3-2 home defeat to Queen of the South followed an embarrassing Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Highland League side Brora Rangers.

There have also been calls for Ann Budge to step down as chairwoman when the Foundation completes its takeover of the club this summer.

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Posters have been placed around Edinburgh calling for the pair to leave their positions, while disgruntled fans have also been prepared to hit the club in the pocket.

Foundation of Hearts director Garry Halliday told BBC Sportsound: "When we went into administration we had just over 8,200 pledgers and a couple of weeks ago we were slightly above that.

“We’re now down to about 8000 so there has been a couple of hundred cancellations, a couple of hundred reduced pledges and about 300-odd emails to tell us exactly how the fans are feeling. And the members are thinking.

"The message we're hearing is that it's down to the manager and they’d come back if there was a change. It’s always harder to get members back than to get new ones.

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"Those figures are passed directly to the club. We don’t dilute any message and it's passed on loud and clear. We’ve got two nominated directors and the members’ views will form their standpoint.

"It's a two-way street though. The club are always in touch with us and asking how the fans are feeling and we let them know."

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