Paul Hartley
Hartley with Bristol City in 2009
Personal information
Full name Paul Hartley[1]
Date of birth (1976-10-19) 19 October 1976 (age 47)[2]
Place of birth Hamilton, Scotland
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder[4]
Team information
Current team
 Cove Rangers (head coach)
Youth career
1993–1994 Hamilton Academical
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1996 Hamilton Academical 47 (11)
1996–1997 Millwall 44 (4)
1997–1998 Raith Rovers 50 (13)
1998–2000 Hibernian 36 (6)
1999–2000 → Greenock Morton (loan) 3 (1)
2000–2003 St Johnstone 87 (12)
2003–2007 Heart of Midlothian 118 (31)
2007–2009 Celtic 62 (3)
2009–2010 Bristol City 40 (5)
2010–2011 Aberdeen 24 (4)
Total 511 (90)
International career
1997 Scotland U21 1 (0)
2004 Scotland B 1 (0)
2005–2010 Scotland 25 (1)
Managerial career
2011–2014 Alloa Athletic
2014–2017 Dundee
2017–2018 Falkirk
2019–2022 Cove Rangers
2022 Hartlepool United
2023– Cove Rangers
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paul Hartley (born 19 October 1976) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of Scottish League One side Cove Rangers.

As a player, Hartley won trophies with both Hearts and Celtic, and earned 25 caps for the Scotland national team. He also played for Hamilton Academical, Millwall, Raith Rovers, Hibernian, Greenock Morton, St Johnstone, Bristol City and Aberdeen during his career.

As a manager, he guided Alloa Athletic to successive promotions. He then moved to Dundee, who he helped win promotion to the Scottish top flight in 2014. Hartley was sacked by Dundee in March 2017. He was then appointed by Falkirk, but he left this position after less than one year. Hartley joined Cove Rangers in July 2019 and led the club to two promotions before his move to Hartlepool.

His time at Hartlepool United was shortlived. After signing 17 players in three months, he was unable to register a league win in the first nine games of the season and he departed with the club in 23rd position in the table.

Club career

Early career

Hartley was born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.[4] Hartley started his senior career at Hamilton Academical, where he spent two seasons. Millwall paid £380,000 to gain his services in July 1996; this remained Hamilton's biggest sale until James McCarthy moved to Wigan Athletic for an initial £1.2 million in 2009.[5] Hartley returned to Scotland a year later, joining Raith Rovers for £150,000, before moving to Hibernian in 1998, whom he helped win the First Division in 1998–99.[6]

In season 1999–2000, he spent a short spell on loan at Greenock Morton.[7]

St Johnstone

St Johnstone manager Sandy Clark, who had previously managed Hartley at Hamilton, signed Hartley for a £200,000 fee in 2000.[8] Billy Stark, who succeeded Clark in 2001, started using Hartley as a central attacking midfielder during the 2001–02 season. This change of position from his previous role as a right winger, coincided with a significant upturn in his performances, but it was not enough to prevent St Johnstone's relegation to the First Division. Hartley's personal success continued as he was nominated for the SPFA First Division player of the year award in 2003,[9] but his team failed to gain promotion back to the SPL in 2003.

Hearts

Hartley (no. 10) playing for Heart of Midlothian in 2006

Hearts signed Hartley on a free transfer when his contract with St Johnstone expired in the summer of 2003. He helped Hearts to third place in the Premier League in 2003–04 and starring in their subsequent UEFA Cup run. In January 2005, Celtic attempted to buy Hartley, but their £300,000 offer was considered significantly below Hearts valuation and was rejected. Hartley subsequently signed an improved contract with Hearts.[citation needed]

Hartley scored three goals against archrivals Hibernian in the Scottish Cup semi-final in 2006, his first hat-trick as a professional footballer.[10] Despite his sending off, Hearts defeated Second Division outfit Gretna on penalties in the 2006 Scottish Cup Final.[11]

He was voted as SPL Player of the Year in 2005–06.[12] Hartley was also shortlisted for Scottish Football Writers award in the same season and the SPFA Players' award in 2004–05.[13][14]

During the January 2007 transfer window, Hartley was linked with Rangers[15] and Premier League club Aston Villa.[16] Hearts manager Valdas Ivanauskas initially responded to the speculation by insisting any transfer bids would not be appreciated.[17] On 26 January, however, Hearts and Ivanauskas admitted that they had now come to the decision to sell their prize assets; both Hartley and Craig Gordon were both dropped for that weekend's match against Rangers.[18]

Celtic

Hartley signed for Celtic for £1.1 million on a two-and-a-half-year contract, with the option for a further year, in January 2007.[19] On 15 August 2007, he scored his first goal for the club in their Champions League 3rd qualifying round tie against Russian Premier League side Spartak Moscow.[20]

Gordon Strachan usually employed Hartley, who had played as an attacking midfielder for Hearts, in a more defensive role.[21] Playing in the centre of midfield with Barry Robson, Hartley helped Celtic to their third league title in a row.

Hartley featured less for Celtic during the 2008–09 season and was released by new manager Tony Mowbray on 1 July 2009.[22]

Bristol City

Hartley playing for Bristol City in 2010

After his release by Celtic, Hartley signed for Bristol City.[23] Hartley played his first match for the club in a friendly against Dutch team Ajax before scoring on his competitive debut in a 2–2 draw away to Preston North End.[24][25] After citing a desire to return to Scotland, Hartley was made available for free transfer by the club in July 2010.[26] He was heavily linked with a return to former club Hearts, but they dropped their interest in Hartley after he refused to distance himself from criticism of majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov during his first stint with the club.[27]

Aberdeen

Hartley signed for Aberdeen on 28 July 2010 and was appointed as the new club captain on the same day.[28] On his league debut for Aberdeen, Hartley scored a hat-trick of penalty kicks in a 4–0 victory against Hamilton.[29] It was the first time a player had scored a hat-trick of penalties in a Scottish top division match since Donald Ford, for Hearts against Morton, in September 1973.[30] Hartley scored another penalty, against Hibernian in a 4–2 victory, on 23 October 2010.[31] Three days later, Hartley scored both Aberdeen goals in a 2–1 win against Falkirk in the League Cup.[32] This meant that Hartley had scored eight goals for Aberdeen, seven from penalties.[32] Hartley announced his retirement as a player at the end of the 2010–11 season, having missed the last two months of the season due to a medial knee ligament injury.[33]

International career

Hartley's first experiences of international football took place right at the beginning of his professional career when he was selected by manager Craig Brown as a training squad player for Euro 96.[34] His performances for Hearts earned him international recognition in December 2004, when he appeared for Scotland B against Germany B in Mannheim.[35] He won his first full Scotland cap the following 26 March, against Italy in the San Siro.[36] Hartley scored his only international goal in a 3–0 win over Slovenia on 12 October 2005.[37]

Managerial career

Alloa Athletic

Hartley was appointed manager at Alloa Athletic on 17 May 2011,[38] to get Alloa back into the second division having been relegated the season before. He had to rebuild the squad as every player's contract had expired; only three were offered new contracts and only one accepted. Hartley managed to get a full squad together and Alloa won the title on 7 April 2012.[39] He led the side to a successive promotion through the Scottish First Division play-offs in May 2013, relegating Dunfermline Athletic in the process.[40] He resigned after the 5–1 loss against Dumbarton on 18 January 2014.[41]

Dundee

Hartley signed for Dundee as manager on 5 February 2014, replacing John Brown. He led the Dee to the Scottish Championship title on the final day and promotion to the Scottish Premiership.[42] Dundee went unbeaten in their first 8 games of the season including a 1–1 draw with Celtic. Hartley then declined an offer to manage Cardiff City.[43] Dundee went on to finish sixth in the Premiership,[44] and finished eighth in the following season.[44] Hartley was sacked by Dundee in April 2017, after a run of seven consecutive defeats left them in a relegation play-off position.[44]

Falkirk

Hartley was appointed Falkirk manager on 4 October 2017, succeeding Peter Houston.[45] After a bad start to the 2018–19 season, Hartley left Falkirk on 27 August 2018.[46]

Cove Rangers

Hartley joined newly promoted Scottish League Two club Cove Rangers in July 2019, succeeding John Sheran as manager.[47] After immediately guiding the club to win promotion in his first season and reaching League One play-offs in his second one, he led Cove to another promotion in the 2021–22 league campaign, as the club won the League One title and progressed to the Scottish Championship.[48]

Hartlepool United

On 3 June 2022, Hartley departed Cove to take up the vacant managerial role at EFL League Two club Hartlepool United.[48][49] During the summer transfer window, Hartley signed 16 new players in a major overhaul of the squad.[50] His first game was a 4–0 loss at Walsall on 30 July.[51] On 30 August, he won a competitive game for the first time at the eighth attempt, a 2–0 home win over Harrogate Town in the EFL Trophy group stage.[52] On 18 September 2022, following a 2–0 defeat to Sutton United, Hartley was sacked by Hartlepool following a poor start to the season, with the club being in 23rd place at the time of his departure.[53] Hartlepool had failed to win any of their first nine League games.[50] Hartlepool would later be relegated to the National League at the end of the 2022–23 season.[54]

Return to Cove Rangers

On 5 January 2023, Hartley returned to Cove Rangers, succeeding Jim McIntyre as manager and signing a contract until June 2026 with the club.[55]

Despite being 10 points clear of bottom side Hamilton when he returned to the role, Cove would go on to be relegated from the Scottish Championship, meaning Hartley was involved in two relegation campaigns during the 2022/23 season with both Hartlepool United and Cove Rangers.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[56]
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other[a] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Millwall 1996–97 Second Division 44 4 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 46 4
Raith Rovers 1997–98 Scottish First Division 30 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 33 9
1998–99 18 4 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 20 5
Total 48 13 2 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 53 14
Hibernian 1998–99 Scottish First Division 12 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 5
1999–2000 Scottish Premier League 24 1 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 29 3
Total 36 6 5 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 43 8
St Johnstone 2000–01 Scottish Premier League 23 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 25 3
2001–02 32 4 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 35 5
2002–03 Scottish First Division 32 6 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 38 6
Total 87 12 4 0 6 2 0 0 1 0 98 14
Heart of Midlothian 2003–04 Scottish Premier League 30 3 2 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 38 3
2004–05 33 11 5 0 3 3 5 1 0 0 46 15
2005–06 34 14 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 40 17
2006–07 21 3 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 25 3
Total 118 31 11 3 8 3 12 1 0 0 149 38
Celtic 2006–07 Scottish Premier League 10 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0
2007–08 27 0 2 0 1 0 9 1 0 0 39 1
2008–09 25 3 1 0 3 0 4 0 0 0 33 3
Total 62 3 7 0 4 0 13 1 0 0 86 4
Bristol City 2009–10 Championship 40 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 42 5
Aberdeen 2010–11 Scottish Premier League 24 4 4 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 32 8
Career total 459 78 35 4 28 11 25 2 2 0 549 95
  1. ^ Includes Scottish Challenge Cup.

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[57]
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 2005 7 1
2006 4 0
2007 6 0
2008 5 0
2009 2 0
2010 1 0
Total 25 1
Score and result list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Hartley goal.
International goal scored by Paul Hartley[58]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 12 October 2005 Celje, Slovenia  Slovenia 3–0 3–0 FIFA World Cup 2006 qualification

Managerial record

As of match played 13 January 2024[59]
Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Alloa Athletic 17 May 2011 18 January 2014 109 56 23 30 051.38
Dundee 3 February 2014 17 April 2017 138 46 37 55 033.33
Falkirk 9 October 2017 27 August 2018 40 16 8 16 040.00
Cove Rangers 3 July 2019 3 June 2022 112 63 23 26 056.25
Hartlepool United 3 June 2022 18 September 2022 11 1 4 6 009.09
Cove Rangers 5 January 2023 present 44 14 10 20 031.82
Total 454 196 105 153 043.17

Honours

Player

Hibernian

Heart of Midlothian

Celtic

Individual

Manager

Alloa Athletic

Dundee

Cove Rangers

References

  1. ^ "List of Players under Written Contract Whose Registrations have been Cancelled by Mutual Consent Between 01/07/2010 and 31/07/2010" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2012.
  2. ^ "Paul Hartley". ESPN. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Paul Hartley". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Paul Hartley". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  5. ^ Lindsay, Clive (20 July 2009). "McCarthy agrees £1.2m Wigan move". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b Gibbons, Glenn (8 May 1999). "Super Hibs hit Premier heights". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  7. ^ "GREENOCK MORTON : 1946/47 – 2009/10". Neil Brown. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  8. ^ "Paul HARTLEY - Premiership Appearances - Celtic FC".
  9. ^ "Fergie and Faddy show". BBC Sport. 19 April 2003.
  10. ^ "Hibernian 0–4 Hearts". BBC Sport. 2 April 2006. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Hearts 1–1 Gretna (4–2 on pens)". BBC Sport. 13 May 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  12. ^ "Hartley is SPL player of season". BBC. 17 May 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Why the writers voted for a safe pair of hands". The Daily Telegraph. 21 April 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Gers duo up for award". Sky Sports. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Rangers poised for Hartley offer". BBC Sport. 6 January 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  16. ^ "Monday's football gossip". BBC Sport. 22 January 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  17. ^ Stuart Bathgate (22 April 2006). "Hartley going nowhere if Ivanauskas is boss". The Scotsman. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  18. ^ "Hearts may sell Gordon & Hartley". 28 January 2007.
  19. ^ "Celtic complete Hartley capture". BBC Sport. 31 January 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
  20. ^ "Spartak Moscow 1–1 Celtic". BBC Sport. 15 August 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  21. ^ MacPherson, Graeme (17 July 2008). "Hartley fitter than ever as Celtic gear up for season". The Herald. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  22. ^ "Hartley and Dutchman exit Celtic". BBC Sport. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  23. ^ "Bristol City confirm Hartley deal". BBC Sport. 6 July 2009.
  24. ^ "Ajax date for Hartley's Bristol City debut". Bristol Evening Post. 13 July 2009. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  25. ^ Baker, Adam (8 August 2009). "Preston v Bristol City". Bristol City F.C. Archived from the original on 17 September 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  26. ^ Anderson, Barry (15 July 2010). "Hearts target Hartley can go on free transfer". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  27. ^ "Riccarton 3 row ends Hearts' Hartley bid". Edinburgh Evening News. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  28. ^ "Aberdeen take midfielder Paul Hartley from Bristol City". BBC Sport. 28 July 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  29. ^ "Aberdeen 4–0 Hamilton". BBC Sport. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  30. ^ Pattullo, Alan (21 August 2010). "Former Hearts striker Donald Ford recalls last top flight penalty hat-trick – 37 years ago". The Scotsman. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  31. ^ "Aberdeen 4 Hibernian 2". BBC Sport. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  32. ^ a b "Aberdeen 2 Falkirk 1". BBC Sport. 26 October 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  33. ^ McLeod, Liam (13 May 2011). "Aberdeen captain Paul Hartley ends his playing career". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  34. ^ "Paul Hartley - Scotland". Daily Record. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  35. ^ "Deutschland – Schottland" (in German). Deutscher Fussball Bund. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  36. ^ "Italy 2 – Scotland". BBC Sport. 26 March 2005. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  37. ^ "Slovenia 0 – Scotland 3". BBC Sport. 12 October 2005. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  38. ^ "Alloa Athletic name Paul Hartley as new manager". BBC Sport. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  39. ^ a b "Alloa Athletic manager Paul Hartley delighted with title win". BBC Sport. 8 April 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  40. ^ a b Lindsay, Clive (19 May 2013). "Dunfermline 1-0 Alloa (agg 1-3)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  41. ^ "Paul Hartley resigns as Alloa Athletic manager". BBC Sport. 18 January 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  42. ^ a b "Dundee promotion 'good for Scottish football', says Paul Hartley". BBC Sport. 4 May 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  43. ^ McLauchlin, Brian (18 September 2014). "Dundee: Paul Hartley turns down Cardiff City manager's job". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  44. ^ a b c "Dundee sack boss Paul Hartley after a run of defeats leaves club fighting drop". BBC Sport. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  45. ^ "Falkirk: Paul Hartley to be appointed as new manager". BBC Sport. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  46. ^ "Manager Hartley departs Falkirk". BBC Sport. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  47. ^ "COVE RANGERS ANNOUNCE PAUL HARTLEY AS FULL-TIME FOOTBALL MANAGER". Cove Rangers FC. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  48. ^ a b Laird, Lewis (3 June 2022). "Another former Celtic midfielder accepts management job in England". 67 Hail Hail. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  49. ^ "Pools Appoint Paul Hartley". Hartlepool United F.C. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  50. ^ a b Matty Jones (18 September 2022). "Paul Hartley sacked as Hartlepool manager after nine game winless run". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  51. ^ Ramage, Joe (30 July 2022). "Paul Hartley left 'shocked' by 'unacceptable' Hartlepool United in opening day defeat to Walsall". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  52. ^ Ramage, Joe (31 August 2022). "Paul Hartley reacts to first win as Hartlepool United boss and holds praise for ex-Kilmarnock striker who scored twice against Harrogate Town". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  53. ^ "Club Statement - Paul Hartley and Gordon Young". Hartlepool United FC. 18 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  54. ^ "Hartlepool United 3–1 Barrow:Pools relegated to National League despite win". BBC Sport. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  55. ^ "Paul Hartley Returns To Balmoral". Cove Rangers F.C. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  56. ^ Paul Hartley at Soccerbase
  57. ^ Paul Hartley at National-Football-Teams.com
  58. ^ "Paul Hartley profile". Scottish FA. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  59. ^ "Paul Hartley: managerial record". Soccerbase. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  60. ^ a b c d "P. Hartley". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  61. ^ "Hall of Fame". Heart of Midlothian FC. Retrieved 3 April 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paul Hartley.
Managerial positions
Heart of Midlothian F.C. – Hall of Fame inductees
Current Scottish Professional Football League managers
Cove Rangers F.C. – current squad
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