PARTICK THISTLE are furious at being left in the dark regarding whether their Ladbrokes Premiership match with Hearts on Sunday will go ahead as planned.

As things stood late last night, the Firhill club had been given no real clear indication about if Tynecastle will be ready in time for the fixture to take place and the fear within Firhill was that the match would have to be re-arranged.

Hearts’ new £14m main stand has yet to receive full clearance from Edinburgh City Council and one of Thistle’s concerns is that procedure will take longer than usual because the council would want to avoid any perception, wrongly or otherwise, that a safety certificate was rushed through so the match could take place.

Read more: Home is where the Hearts are for Christophe Berra as the captial club sweat over Tynecastle safety certificate

The Edinburgh club were last night still advertising tickets on their website; however, time now does seem to be against them.

Hearts insiders hope they have until Friday before they would have to send a request to the SPFL postpone the fixture. But Thistle believe a decision should be made today; rather than them having to wait 48 hours before the game is supposed to kick-off.

Alan Archibald, the Partick manager, has been left deeply frustrated because he is unsure whether a game will take place, a postponement today would obviously affect his training schedule, and there would be a rush for him to organise a bounce game for his first-team who have been inactive during the international break.

This is humiliating for Hearts and owner Ann Budge who had to concede the club had “dropped the ball” in the summer when they revealed the stand’s grand opening would be delayed because, incredibly, an employee at the club had forgot to order the seats.

They were forced to switch their home games to Murrayfield but that was not an option this time as the Scotland rugby team are in the middle of a three-game autumn test series. They play New Zealand in Edinburgh on Saturday evening.

Budge was present on Monday as council chiefs and an SPFL representative toured the structure, and it is understood several minor issues were flagged up.

Read more: Home is where the Hearts are for Christophe Berra as the captial club sweat over Tynecastle safety certificate

However, while there are no substantial problems and receiving the requisite paperwork will not be an issue in the fullness of time, the club do face a race against time to make the necessary fixes before the weekend.

Workers have been ordered to work nightshifts over the coming days in a bid to bring Tynecastle up to scratch in time for Sunday. Council officials plan to visit Tynecastle at the tail end of the week for another inspection.

Hearts expect to have a better idea whether the main stand will be ready by Thursday, however a final decision may not be made until Friday.

An SPFL spokesperson last night stated that they “expect the game to go ahead as planned”.

However, should they not receive a safety certificate in time, Hearts will request a postponement of the fixture against Thistle. It is understood the SPFL are fully aware of that possibility and are in constant dialogue with both clubs – although Partick are not happy that a decision, one way or another has not been made.

Hearts do not anticipate being subject of any disciplinary action if the encounter is postponed but Thistle are far from happy at being left in limbo and a fear is that the match, if it is called off, will be rearranged for December which would give them nine league games during that month.

Read more: Home is where the Hearts are for Christophe Berra as the captial club sweat over Tynecastle safety certificate

When plans to replace the historic Tynecastle main stand were announced at the Hearts Annual General Meeting in December 2015, it was hoped that it would be completed - within a £12 million budget - by the start of this season.

However, after hosting Betfred Cup fixtures at a partially-closed Tynecastle earlier this term, the club used its contingency plan of playing three games at Murrayfield.

The revised opening day for the main stand of November 5 was again missed, with that game switched to the home of Scottish Rugby

Gary Locke, the former Hearts manager, is desperate to see his club return to Tynecastle and hopes that will prove the catalyst for an upturn in fortunes following three successive Premiership defeats.

He said: "We've missed playing there, no doubt about that, and the team has done reasonably well where they are in the league bearing in mind they have not played a home game yet. Murrayfield has been good but it's certainly not the same as playing at Tynecastle.

"When you're playing at Tynecastle with a massive Hearts support behind you it does make a big, big difference.

"I know the players are looking forward to getting back there to what will be one of the best stadiums in the country.

"The stand is out of this world and I think it can help take the club to a different level. We will never be able to have the fan base of Celtic and Rangers but maybe it will help us get a little closer to them.”