Hearts legend pays tribute to 'lovely man' Leslie Deans after death of former club chairman

Hearts legend Gary Mackay has paid tribute to Leslie Deans after the former club chairman died at the age of 71.

The solicitor passed away on Wednesday evening at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh with Hearts releasing a statement confirming the news the following day.

It was a shock for Mackay, the club’s leading appearance holder, who last met Deans at the 1-1 draw against Livingston prior to the cinch Premiership break.

“It’s a feeling of hurt and disappointment because he was such a lovely man. I only saw him at the last home game and he was in good spirits. He was kind and respectful, as he’d always been during my time at the football club,” Mackay told the Evening News.

Leslie Deans (second from the left) and Gary Mackay (far right) at Tynecastle Park in 2005 to promote the launch of a new club book. Picture: SNS

“It’s a sad loss to the Heart of Midlothian family.”

Mackay’s relationship with Deans went back to the mid-90s when he and Chris Robinson took over the club from Wallace Mercer and the former Scotland international was still in his playing days.

“I initially thought he was quite a shy man,” said Mackay. “He probably still came across as that to this day. He was comfortable around people who were comfortable around him. He would never impact in a company where he didn’t feel welcome. Just a thoroughly nice man.

“He respected everybody he met who had a regard for the football club.”

Deans would leave the board in 1999, the year after the club ended their 36-year wait for a trophy with a win over Rangers in the Scottish Cup final, but his passion for the club remained obvious as he became a leading dissenter against Robinson’s plan to sell Tynecastle to Cala Homes to pay off the debt.

“In the game people are always going to question decisions, but with Leslie Deans he always made decisions with the good of the football club in mind,” said Mackay.

“He knew what was the right call when it came to the proposed sale of Tynecastle and he was on the same page as the majority of Hearts supporters.

“He was the chairman when we won the cup in 1998 and he takes that historic day with him. It’s a day we’ll never forget as supporters and to be chairman that day was a momentous thing for him as well, I’m sure.”

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