Hearts chairman Calum Paterson has vowed the Tynecastle club will never forget the events at the end of last season, while admitting that communication with supporters in the aftermath could have been improved.
The Jambos missed out on a first top-flight league title triumph in 66 years in a final-day shootout with Celtic at Parkhead. A 3-1 win saw Martin O'Neill's men clinch a fifth successive crown, with Callum Osmand's third goal sparking a mass pitch invasion during which the game was ended by referee Don Robertson.
Derek McInnes' players were forced into a hasty retreat and boarded the team bus back to the capital still in their kit. A police investigation into alleged assaults on visiting players is ongoing, with one person charged and another slapped with a football banning order so far.
Paterson criticises scheduling and calls for consistency
Paterson takes issue with the decision to schedule the game for the final match week of the season, when traditionally the league leaders at the time of the split have been given a home fixture. He has also called for greater "transparency and consistency" from the football authorities around decisions made, stressing the importance of "standards and processes."
"The final week was difficult on a number of fronts," he said. "Amongst other things, we were disappointed by the unprecedented decision that the team leading the league at the time of the split were to play our final game away from home."
"The circumstances at the end of that game were from our perspective completely unacceptable. We took advice and made our concerns very clear to the football authorities. Standing back from it all, I think we'd like to see greater transparency and consistency around key decisions in Scottish football. Because standards and processes matter, particularly at important points in the season. I think there's room for improvement."
Communication with fans could have been clearer
Paterson acknowledged the frustration among supporters about how little they heard from the club afterwards, but pointed to the ongoing police investigation as a limiting factor.
"I understand the frustration about how little supporters heard from us afterwards. There was and remains a live police investigation into actions against the players and that obviously limited what we could say publicly," he said.
"But even with those constraints, I think we could have communicated more clearly. In the end, we had to think about what was best for Hearts with a new management team coming in, a new season to prepare for, we felt the right thing was to draw a line and look forward."
"But our supporters should know we did everything we could to stand up for Hearts. We will always do that and we certainly haven't forgotten what happened last season."
Paterson concluded: "But our focus now has to be on putting the club in the strongest possible position this season and beyond, and of course, communicating better along the way."
