HEARTS owner Ann Budge has revealed that the Tynecastle pitch will be re-turfed in time for the club's next home game against Ross County on March 1. 

The state of the playing surface has deteriorated in recent weeks, drawing much attention after recent draws against Hibernian in the Scottish Cup and Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Budge released a statement on Monday confirming that the Jambos are taking action immediately rather than waiting until the end of the season, by commissioning SIS Ltd to replace the 19-year-old pitch before the league fixture against the Staggies in nine days' time. 

The statement read: "We have to keep the on-pitch business of the club running smoothly...and we are having to deal with an unexpected problem on that front.  

"As many of you will have seen for yourselves, our pitch has deteriorated badly over the last few weeks.  While we knew that we would have to address the replacement of our now 19 year old pitch sometime soon, we were hoping that it would see us through to the end of this season.

"However, having carefully monitored the issues and having consulted a number of experts in this field, we have taken the decision to address the problem now. We have, therefore, commissioned SIS (UK) Ltd, the industry leader in the field, to re-turf our pitch.

"The work is scheduled to start this week, and we are assured, it will be completed well in time for our next home game against Ross County, on Wednesday, 1st March.  

"While this will add a few additional management and logistical challenges for many of us based at Tynecastle, we are comfortable that it is the right course of action.  Importantly, it can be achieved without impacting our Construction Programme."