BDO, the administrators of troubled Scottish football team Hearts have set a date of 12 July for interested parties to submit bids for the club.

Trevor Birch, joint administrator of Hearts and BDO partner, said: 'Although I'm fully aware we will still have obstacles to overcome in order to resolve the share transfer issues, I believe it is important to announce a quick deadline so we can ascertain the level of serious interest and tease out any other interested parties that are out there. We look forward to working with all potential purchasers in the coming weeks.'

The club's administrators are continuing to liaise with administrators in Lithuania to ensure shares owned by UBIG, AB Ukio Bankas and Quantum are included in the sale along with ownership of Tynecastle stadium.

BDO has also confirmed that three players have agreed to take pay cuts. Striker John Sutton has been made redundant, along with four other player redundancies already announced.

Birch applauded community and club effects to keep Hearts afloat, but warned that even though the bid deadline is only just over two weeks away it will take time before a deal can be concluded and a CVA initiated, as a result of the ownership issue.

'The support the club has received has been overwhelming: the generosity of the fans over the last week in buying season tickets, the support of those players taking pay cuts, the staff at the club who have not been paid last month's wages, and Wonga, which has brought forward payment of its sponsorship money for the coming season. All these gestures have played their part in keeping the club afloat and giving it a lifeline. As administrators we thank them greatly for all their efforts,' Birch said.