Ann Budge quite right to condemn supporter behaviour, says Robbie Neilson

Budge, the Hearts owner, pulled no punches in her assessment of the behaviour of both sets of fans in last Sunday's Scottish Cup clash, describing vandalism in the away end as "appalling" and citing the destruction of almost 100 seats. She also noted "disgraceful" graffiti and "intimidation" of Hearts fans and staff as the atmosphere turned sour in Gorgie. The home supporters were not spared Budge's wrath, with the self-made millionaire confirming that one Hearts supporter has been banned for life, having been ejected for sectarian singing.

Her statement, which was published on Wednesday evening, drew immediate criticism from the Celtic striker Anthony Stokes, while the Glasgow club issued a swift response.

However, Neilson, the Hearts head coach, has no doubt that the Hearts supremo was right to criticise the supports.

Neilson said: "I think Ann [Budge] has put out a good, strongly-worded statement. We are trying to run the club in the right way, on the pitch and off it.

"Ann is very intelligent in what she does and she wants this club to go in the right direction. Yes, it has to be an intense environment - but not hostile or aggressive.

"Twenty per cent of fans at the game were kids and they are the future of the club. We have to create an environment where families enjoy coming to the game, spend money and then come back next week.

"We are under no illusions: there are a small minority of fans who go to games and act irresponsibly, but the vast majority of fans are well behaved and it's up to the individual clubs to eradicate any problems they have within the club."

The greatest dismay in Budge's statement was reserved for the reports of parents having to remove "terrified" children from the stadium. Neilson says that is something Hearts never want to see again, with the current hierarchy desperate to create a family atmosphere inside the stadium. He believes Major League Soccer, which has seen tremendous growth since its inception in 1996, provides plenty of inspiration.

Neilson continued: "I think she [Budge] is seeing things from a new perspective. You look at the game over in America with the MLS, where it is all family-orientated. We want it to be like that here.

"You don't want to lose the passion and the intensity, but you can't have the other side of it - where people don't want to come to the games for fear of what will happen.

"In America they target the female of the house, who will take the whole family along to the game. They had 1500 when they first started, now there are teams getting 50,000 every week. It will take time her, but there needs to be a start."

The powder-keg atmosphere at Tynecastle last weekend was ignited when Hearts midfielder Morgaro Gomis was shown a red card for a reckless tackle on Scott Brown after nine minutes, ensuring he is suspended for tomorrow afternoon's visit of Queen of the South. Referee Willie Collum then awarded Celtic a contentious penalty in the second half after John Guidetti plunged to the turf under no contact from Brad McKay, the Hearts defender.

Neilson has expressed his disappointment that John Fleming, head of referees, has not returned his phone call after he requested an explanation for Collum's display in the capital. He added: "I spoke to John [Fleming] on Sunday night and I was hoping to hear back from him or the referee but I have still not heard anything.

"We go along to these coaches and referee meetings and they always talk about how we need to build relationships. Well, I don't know about you, but I find the best way to have a relationship with someone is to talk to them.

"Even if we are not happy with what is said, at least there has been dialogue and there is some sort of relationship being built. If there is no conversation then that makes things difficult in the future."