Hearts owner Ann Budge says it will be an "emotional" day when the team play their last match in front of the main stand on Sunday.

The businesswoman insists it is a change that is essential to the progress of the club.

After the match against Aberdeen, work will begin to demolish the 103-year old structure and construct a new stand and supporters will say goodbye to many memories.

Budge says she understands the attachment but did not fully grasp it until she took over the club three years ago.

"I think it certainly will be emotional," she told STV. "I can understand exactly where the supporters are coming from because I've spoken to so many of them over the last couple of years.

"The truth of the matter is that if you want to move on we all know what we have to do.

"One hundred and three years has been good service but no, I am not as emotionally attached to it. Before I took over the club I had only been in this stand twice."

She added: "The first time I came in I was really quite horrified. I suffered from the same miscomprehension as a number of supporters thinking 'this is wooden, it must be a danger'.

"I know it's not but I didn't at the time. So my memories of this stand are very limited until I got involved three years ago."

The Hearts chairwoman explained the purpose of the change was to deliver the best experience for supporters as well as to try to boost revenue.

"Apart from the obvious, that some of the facilities in this stand are incredibly poor, and the fact that so many supporters have put up with them because they love the main stand is terrific, but being able to give them the best instead of the worst is going to be good," she said.

"We'll lose nothing. The stadium will continue to have the atmosphere it has and at the other side we will have what I genuinely believe are facilities that are second to none.

"From a hospitality perspective, what we're trying to do is at all times say we want this to be the equivalent of a five-star hotel. So it's five-star service all the way.

"We're doing this partly for the community, principally for the club but we will be able to help the community.

"We want something that's used seven days a week, not one day a fortnight."

The construction of the new stand will open up more seats and enable bigger crowds but Budge insisted they did not need to fill the stand to be financially secure.

Hearts' recent run of results have meant the stadium has not always sold out recently and she admitted a dip in form could have been timed better but was not unduly concerning.

"As you know, we have currently something in the order of 14,000 season tickets," she said.

"Being a fairly cautious person, we're budgeting moving forward for 14,000 season tickets. We're not saying we're going to have another 3000.

"I'd like to think that will come. It would improve the whole experience but right now if we can maintain then we'll be OK.

"I can't see any reason why people who are currently season ticket holders would not want to be a season ticket holder in an improved stadium."

She added: "A challenge? It's an opportunity. Selling 3000 extra tickets for big games would be great for the club.

"The attendances are a wee bit down, I don't dispute that for a minute, but they're still very, very good.

"It would have been great if we could have carried on the form of the last two seasons that would have been magnificent.

"But it was always going to be a challenge and with everything that has happened this season I think the fact that we're still at 15,000 or 16000 says masses for the support."

That run of form has come in the early days of Ian Cathro's tenure as head coach and the 30-year old has taken some criticism after stepping up from assistant coaching roles to having sole responsibility for the team.

He received Budge's full backing and she said she could already see Cathro's ideas beginning to take shape.

"At the end of the day, I'm totally confident that the supporters will stick with us," she said.

"Yes, we get grumbles when things don't go right but we've got a new team, a new management team and as I've said many times before, you have to give people a chance.

"I think it's going OK. I'm not going to say it's going fantastically well but you have to give people time. It takes everybody a bit of time to get used to a new environment. I speak from experience on that one."

She added: "I watched the game at the weekend and I had spoken to Ian about what we were trying to do and how we were going to be set up, what the objectives were.

"I could see it and I could see it working. Did it work right up to the point of scoring some of these 26 attempts?

"It kind of broke down at that end but I can actually see the ideas that he's talking about and getting through. I think it is definitely progress."

Hibernian return to the top flight next season after they won the Championship title and the renewal of the city rivalry in the Premiership will be another part of Hearts' story.

Budge welcomed the Easter Road side back and said the derbies are occasions that everyone enjoyed.

She underlined Hearts' determination to be the best in the city on and off the park.

"My perception of it is, that with the obvious exception, it's been very tight," she said.

"Whether the top half or the bottom half, anyone can win on any given day and this season has demonstrated that.

"We do consider ourselves to be one of the top clubs. Hibs will absolutely consider themselves to be the same. I think it's good for Scottish football. You want competition."

She added: "We will be setting our stall out to prove that we are the top Edinburgh team, on the field and off the field.

"Personally I think it's good that we have the two teams back in the top division and as you say we'll have the derbies back.

"And the supporters love it, they love it, whichever side loses doesn't love it for a bit but it's a lovely experience. So yes, bring them on as they say."