Andrew McKinlay has hailed Hearts fans after a fantastic showing from the Jambos support away at Fiorentina.
Robbie Neilson's men may have lost 5-1 in their Europa Conference League Group A clash but the thousands of travelling Hearts supporters danced and sang all day and night after landing one of Serie A's big boys. They lined the streets of Florence and earned praise from locals for their behaviour.
Now more than 1,000 are heading north to Aberdeen for this afternoon's Premiership match at Aberdeen and chief executive McKinlay says it's truly humbling: "On behalf of everyone at Heart of Midlothian Football Club, I would like to thank our supporters for travelling to Italy for Thursday’s Europa Conference League match with Fiorentina. The streets of Florence were lined with Hearts fans and every single piece of feedback we have received has been overwhelmingly positive. You travelled in your thousands and did our club, and yourselves, proud.
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"This period has been a learning curve for everyone at the club and we continue to gain invaluable experience, which we hope to put to good use by once again qualifying for Europe.
"We were always under no illusions that playing on two fronts - European and domestic, with such a tight turnaround between matches - was going to be anything other than challenging.
"What hasn’t helped our cause has been injuries and suspensions, however, we are confident that once these situations resolve themselves we will once again get firing on all cylinders.
"More than 1,100 Hearts fans will make the trip north to Aberdeen, which is no mean feat considering the games have been coming thick and fast. To those making the journey, again, I thank you."
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