League Cup Final Money Crucial For SPL Hearts To Secure Survival Until Summer

Scottish Premier League club Heart of Midlothian Dir Sergejus Fedotovas insisted that the club’s League Cup Final place "will deliver the cash they need to see out the season," according to Alan Marshall of the Scotland DAILY RECORD. The crisis-hit Jambos -- £24M ($38M) in debt -- are in line for a £500,000 ($793,000) boost after beating Inverness to set up a March 17 clash with St. Mirren at Hampden. Hearts' 139-year existence "had come under threat" over a recent £450,000 ($713,000) winding-up order brought by U.K. tax authority HMRC. Fans "dug deep," but their share issue fundraising fell around £800,000 ($1.3M) short of the £1.79M ($2.8M) target "needed to secure survival until summer." Fedotovas admited that "reaching Hampden is the cash injection" the club needs "to cover the funding shortfall" (DAILY RECORD, 1/31).