BY ALAN TEMPLE – @CCP_Sport
Hearts owner Ann Budge has confirmed talks are taking place with a view to extending the contracts of the club’s coaching team.
Head coach Robbie Neilson and number two Stevie Crawford have enjoyed success in the Tynecastle dugout since being appointed by Budge in summer 2014 as part of a structure that also involves director of football Craig Levein.
The Gorgie outfit returned to the Premiership at the first attempt last summer after winning the Championship with a 21-point margin.
And Hearts currently sit comfortably in third place in the top-flight this term with 41 points from 23 games.
Asked if the club was in re-signing discussions with the coaching team, Budge, who was speaking on the STV’s The Late Show, said: “That’s correct.”
Budge added: “Give me a couple of weeks yet. We know what we’ve got to do.
“We’re constantly talking.”
Budge, meanwhile, has told fans that she hopes to be in a position to release more information on the proposed new main stand next month.
The majority shareholder revealed at December’s Annual General Meeting that the club would remain at Tynecastle and build a new main stand, which would take the ground’s capacity to around 20,000.
Work is scheduled to be completed for the start of 2017/18 campaign.
Budge said: “We’ve got the design work being finalised as we speak. There’s a study that’s been commissioned, the results of which we should get back by the end of February.
“All being well, sometime in March we should be able to disclose a lot more information.”
