Hearts to install new pitch at the end of the season

Hearts have announced plans to relay the pitch at Tynecastle at the end of the season.

The club will continue the redevelopment of the ground by spending close to a million pounds'' to lay a new state of the art pitch.

It represents another significant outlay for the club who had the main stand rebuilt last summer, a project that reportedly cost up to £15 million and took longer than expected to be completed.

Manager Craig Levein said on Saturday following their win over Aberdeen that the grass was improving after the state of the pitch had previously been criticised.

But the club have announced plans to begin work after the final Premiership match of the season, with work expected to take up to 10 weeks.

A statement on the club website said: This will be the first full pitch relay at Tynecastle for approximately 20 years, and with a new undersoil heating and irrigation system to be installed at the same time, a huge amount of work will be undertaken at a significant cost to the club.

Given the wear and tear the current pitch has suffered over the past few seasons, this new hybrid pitch is a necessity and we look forward to its completion, and giving Craig and the first team the best playing surface possible.'