“It will be good for us if they come up.”
The Queen of Hearts is backing Hibs in the Premiership play-offs!
Ann Budge argues a win for their rivals who await the winners of Rangers’ second leg meeting with Queen of the South next Sunday is the best of all possible outcomes.
“From a Hearts perspective, it is better if Hibs win the play-offs,” said Budge.
“It will be good for us if they come up.
“We would have the derbies, and it would be a big thing for the city of Edinburgh to have the two clubs in the Premiership.
“The derbies would all be sell-outs, and that would have a positive financial impact for us.”
Budge, whose father, James, was a Leith docker who supported Hibs yet went to watch Hearts too also has sympathies with the Championship’s other contenders.
“I have a soft spot for Queen of the South because they have been brilliant this season, and have given the top teams a hard time,” she said.
“And after what Rangers have been through in recent years, you can’t but hope they can move things on positively.
“But if pushed, I think Hibs coming up would suit Hearts and the city of Edinburgh better.”
The Tynecastle owner also says it would be commonsense for the two capital city clubs to work closer together in business matters.
And far from the days when Wallace Mercer’s merger suggestions were seen as hostile, Budge and Hibs Chief Executive, Leeann Dempster, are on good terms.
“This is something I’ve discussed with Leeann a couple of times,” said Budge.
“If something we do can be beneficial to Hibs and it doesn’t cause us any problems or detract from what we have at Hearts why shouldn’t we benefit from it, and likewise them?
“I tend to think of it as the bigger football picture.
“Bear in mind, though, I had a lot of Hibs supporters in the family and a lot of Hearts supporters in the family when I was growing up. They would go to the football together, so there weren’t the same things that sometimes go on now.”
Budge does, though, accept the idea of groundsharing Easter Road, when Hearts are redeveloping Tynecastle’s Main Stand in the next couple of years, would be a step too far.
“Economically, it would probably be the best option,” she said.
“But I don’t know if I would be able to get that one past the supporters!”
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