Businessman will push for more democratic board and says feuding must stop

MIKE AITKEN 

ROBERT McGrail, the Edinburgh businessman who said he was willing to buy Tynecastle and lease it back to the club, will meet Hearts’ chairman Doug Smith next week and urge the board to appoint new directors in a bid to convince creditors they should give the cash-strapped club more time to sort out its financial affairs.

After meeting earlier this week with fans to mobilise opposition against a move to Murrayfield, McGrail yesterday dismissed complaints from some supporters who want to remove chief executive Chris Robinson but argued for a more democratic and accountable board of directors.

In an interview with The Scotsman, McGrail also claimed the Bank of Scotland had lost faith in the current board and suggested new blood was required to find solutions to the club’s difficulties. He also called for Robinson and former chairman Leslie Deans to end their protracted dispute and work together again.

Asked if he would put in writing the verbal offer to buy Tynecastle and lease the ground back to the club, McGrail made it clear he will only take that step if his scheme has the full support of the board.

"The real meat of the problem is that Hearts are in serious financial difficulty and the personality clash between Chris and Les has not enhanced the situation," he said. "If Hearts want to move forward, all the factions must put their differences to one side. I don’t believe there’s anything which has been done that can’t be undone for the good of the club. Chris is seen by many stayaway supporters as the problem rather than solution - the controlling influence at the club - and he needs to be a big enough man to change the perception that he is the board.

"I’m in a privileged position where I can afford to offer assistance. I’m not David Murray, but I can do what is a fairly straightforward property transaction which will give Hearts some breathing space."

On what he expected to happen next, McGrail went on: "Basically we now have some time to reflect, as you do at this time of year. When I made my verbal proposal to the board about Tynecastle they didn’t immediately pick up on it and perhaps it came out of the blue for them. Now they’ve had time to consider, I’m sure that constructive discussions can take place between us.

"My own sense of urgency was that a lot of things were going to happen quickly and a deal might have been done to sign a lease for Murrayfield which would have left no option but for Tynecastle to go. Politically, I felt I had to declare my interest to add weight to the argument against Murrayfield.

"In fairness to the board, some of the language I used in my statement [he called the directors ‘undertakers for Hearts’] may have been a little too strong, though that doesn’t in any way soften my opposition to Murrayfield. What we do need now is an effort from all sides to re-unite. So I’m hoping to have constructive discussions with Doug Smith almost immediately after the New Year break provided neither one of us is out of the country on business.

"Then we need to look at how the plan [to buy and lease back Tynecastle] could be put together. Obviously I can’t force a solution into the board. The directors will either want to enter into the spirit of finding a way forward or they won’t. And in the process, even if they think it’s a good idea, it still might not work. But what I will say is it’s not difficult for me to put a proposal together. Because I believe Hearts ending up at Murrayfield would be a disaster."

The Edinburgh property developer, who owns around ten per cent of the club’s shares, is convinced individuals such as himself and Deans, who owns 20 per cent of the shareholding, can still make a difference in the club’s hour of need.

"The way forward is for the board to open up. There have been a lot of calls to ‘sack the board’. But the only way that will happen is if the board sacks itself. Football has problems in general at the moment and Hearts have problems in particular. One of those difficulties is the ongoing feud between Chris [Robinson] and Les [Deans]. My belief is that one of the ways forward for the club is for Hearts to re-unite.

"As a family, those who care for Hearts should put their personal differences aside at a time of crisis and come together. We have to examine what’s possible rather than what’s pie in the sky. A sack-the-board campaign would be destructive and very damaging for Hearts.

"I think the board are mistaken in where they see Hearts going, but I do believe they have the club’s best interests to mind. That’s why the board should be re-invented on a wider scale and become more democratically based. It would be unreasonable to expect Chris Robinson to step down after putting in such a lot of effort and still holding 20 per cent of the shares. Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas. But there are some lightweight members of the current board who could be lost in the process of bringing in some heavyweight newcomers.

"I also have sympathy for the directors because they’re caught between a rock and a hard place. The bank have restricted their options and, to me, that’s almost like a vote of no confidence from the bank in the board. There’s a lot of talent waiting in the wings to assist Hearts. Sacking the board won’t happen, but we can re-vitalise, re-structure and re-unite the board in order to ensure Hearts survive."

As to the value of his meeting with representatives from the Federation of Hearts’ Supporters Clubs, the Shareholders’ Association and the Fans’ Trust, McGrail explained: "What was helpful about the meeting with the fans was that it highlighted how the various supporters groups are united in their concern about the possibility of the club moving to Murrayfield and the haste with which that option is being pursued. There’s no doubt the board has to take account of what the paying customers think and they were sending the club a clear message." 

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