Callum Paterson has called on more transparency from football authorities around processes and admits fan communication could have been better

Hearts chairman Calum Paterson vows the club will never forget what happened at the end of last season, but admits they could have communicated better with fans in the aftermath.

The Jambos lost 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 the Callum Osmand's third goal sparking a mass pitch invasion, during which the game was ended by ref Don Robertson.

Derek McInnes' players were force into 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 takes issue with the call to schedule the game fir 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's also called on 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.

"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.

"But even with those constraint, 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.

"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.