Andrew McKinlay tells Hearts boo boys they went too far and slams 'unlawful' contract leak

Hearts chief Andrew McKinlay has called out the Hearts boo boys who targeted chairwoman Ann Budge and other senior figures – telling them they overstepped the mark.

Jambos supporters protested against the board after damaging results at Tynecastle in December left them out of Europe and bottom of the league. A draw with Moldovan minnows Petrocub saw Neil Critchley's side blow a golden opportunity for knockout stage Euro football and was followed up a week later by a derby defeat to Hibs.

Those results saw Budge, CEO McKinlay, new sporting director Graeme Jones come under severe fire with irate fans filmed aiming their abuse at the chairwoman. Hearts have since picked up and are on a four-game unbeaten run and McKinlay said: “We are very fortunate that we live in a country where you can protest and you're allowed to protest, so I will always uphold people's rights to protest. I have no issue with people singing sack the board either if that's what they feel.

“That's a common thing for football fans to sing when they're not happy with things at a club. What I don't think is appropriate or should be tolerated is singing about individuals in an abusive manner or being abusive to any individuals to their face or otherwise.

“I just don't think that that is appropriate. It wouldn't be accepted in any other area of life and it shouldn't be accepted within football. I totally get the frustrations of the fans. We were all frustrated.

“We're all Hearts fans. We're all in this together and we all need to try and come together. But as I said at the beginning, it's people's right to protest and if they wish to do so then I'm certainly not going to criticise them or tell them that they shouldn't do it.

“We've had some games that I