Paul Hartley (born 19 October 1976) is a Scottish professional football manager and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He is the manager of

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...

side

Cove Rangers Cove Rangers Football Club is a senior Scottish football club currently playing in the Scottish Championship. They are based in the Cove Bay area of Aberdeen and play their football at Balmoral Stadium, having left their former home at Allan ...

. As a player, Hartley won trophies with both Hearts and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

, and earned 25 caps for the Scotland national team. He also played for Hamilton Academical,

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

, Raith Rovers, Hibernian,

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greeno ...

, St Johnstone,

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

and

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

during his career. As a manager, he guided

Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. Formed as Alloa in 1880, the football club shortly changed its name to Alloa Association, and then to Alloa At ...

to successive promotions. He then moved to

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, 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 Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had ...

, but he left this position after less than one year. Hartley joined

in July 2019 and led the club to two promotions before his move to Hartlepool. His time at

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

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 Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

, South Lanarkshire. Hartley started his senior career at Hamilton Academical, where he spent two seasons.

paid £380,000 to gain his services in July 1996; this remained Hamilton's biggest sale until James McCarthy moved to

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

for an initial £1.2 million in 2009. 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. In season 1999–2000, he spent a short spell on loan at

St Johnstone

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

Sandy Clark Alexander "Sandy" Clark (born 28 October 1956) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who is currently manager of Lowland League side East Stirlingshire. Career Clark played for several clubs in his playing career i ...

, who had previously managed Hartley at

, signed Hartley for a £200,000 fee in 2000.

Billy Stark William Stark (born 1 December 1956) is a Scottish former football player and current coach. He made 500 league appearances in total, including successful spells at Aberdeen and Celtic. He then turned to management, which has seen him take car ...

, 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, but his team failed to gain promotion back to the SPL in 2003.

Hearts

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 A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

run. In January 2005,

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. Hartley scored three goals against archrivals Hibernian in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Gretna on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

in the 2006 Scottish Cup Final. He was voted as SPL Player of the Year in 2005–06. Hartley was also shortlisted for Scottish Football Writers award in the same season and the SPFA Players' award in 2004–05. During the January 2007

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...

, Hartley was linked with Rangers and

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

club

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park, ...

. Hearts manager

Valdas Ivanauskas Valdas Ivanauskas (born 31 July 1966) is a Lithuanian football coach and a former striker. He is best known in Europe for his time at Austria Vienna as well as Hamburger SV where he acted between 1993 and 97. Beyond that he stood on the sidel ...

initially responded to the speculation by insisting any transfer bids would not be appreciated. 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 Craig Sinclair Gordon (born 31 December 1982) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian, where he is club captain, and the Scottish national team. Gordon started his c ...

were both dropped for that weekend's match against Rangers.

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. On 15 August 2007, he scored his first goal for the club in their Champions League 3rd qualifying round tie against

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...

side Spartak Moscow.

Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Co ...

usually employed Hartley, who had played as an attacking midfielder for Hearts, in a more defensive role. 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

Tony Mowbray on 1 July 2009.

Bristol City

After his release by Celtic, Hartley signed for

. 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. After citing a desire to return to Scotland, Hartley was made available for free transfer by the club in July 2010. 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.

Aberdeen

Hartley signed for

on 28 July 2010 and was appointed as the new club captain on the same day. On his league debut for Aberdeen, Hartley scored a hat-trick of

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

s in a 4–0 victory against Hamilton. It was the first time a player had scored a hat-trick of penalties in a Scottish top division match since

Donald Ford Donald Campbell Clark Ford (born 25 October 1944) is a Scottish former international footballer, best remembered for his 11-year playing stint with Heart of Midlothian. Football career Tommy Walker signed Ford for Hearts from junior side ...

, for Hearts against Morton, in September 1973. Hartley scored another penalty, against Hibernian in a 4–2 victory, on 23 October 2010. Three days later, Hartley scored both Aberdeen goals in a 2–1 win against

in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

. This meant that Hartley had scored eight goals for Aberdeen, seven from penalties. 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.

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 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

. His performances for Hearts earned him international recognition in December 2004, when he appeared for Scotland B against Germany B in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

. He won his first full

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

cap the following 26 March, against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in the

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums ...

. Hartley scored his only international goal in a 3–0 win over

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

on 12 October 2005.

Managerial career

Alloa Athletic

Hartley was appointed manager at

on 17 May 2011, 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. He led the side to a successive promotion through the Scottish First Division play-offs in May 2013, relegating Dunfermline Athletic in the process. He resigned after the 5–1 loss against

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

on 18 January 2014.

Dundee

Hartley signed for

as manager on 5 February 2014, replacing John Brown. He led the Dee to the

title on the final day and promotion to the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...

. 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 Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

. Dundee went on to finish sixth in the Premiership, and finished eighth in the following season. Hartley was sacked by Dundee in April 2017, after a run of seven consecutive defeats left them in a relegation play-off position.

Falkirk

Hartley was appointed

manager on 4 October 2017, succeeding

Peter Houston Peter Houston (born 19 July 1958) is a Scottish football player and manager who is currently assistant manager of the Scotland under-21 side. Houston played as a striker for Airdrieonians, Livingston United, Albion Rovers, Falkirk, Dumbarton ...

. After a bad start to the 2018–19 season, Hartley left Falkirk on 27 August 2018.

Cove Rangers

Hartley joined newly promoted Scottish League Two club

in July 2019, succeeding John Sheran as manager. 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

Hartlepool United

On 3 June 2022, Hartley departed Cove to take up the vacant managerial role at

EFL League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...

club

. During the summer transfer window, Hartley signed 16 new players in a major overhaul of the squad. His first game was a 4–0 loss at

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

on 30 July. 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 The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL L ...

group stage. 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. Hartlepool had failed to win any of their first nine League games.

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.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Score and result list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Hartley goal.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Hibernian * Scottish First Division: 1998–99 Heart of Midlothian *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2005–06 Celtic *

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...

: 2006–07, 2007–08 *Scottish Cup: 2006–07 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existe ...

: 2008–09 Individual * Heart of Midlothian Hall of Fame inductee: 2006

Manager

Alloa Athletic * Scottish First Division play-offs:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Scottish Third Division The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013. History The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the Scottish Football League (SFL) fro ...

: 2011–12 Dundee *

: 2013–14 Cove Rangers *

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League One was ...

: 2021–22 * Scottish League Two: 2019–20

References

External links

* * *
Profile
at londonhearts.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, Paul 1976 births Aberdeen F.C. players Alloa Athletic F.C. managers Alloa Athletic F.C. players Association football midfielders Bristol City F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Cove Rangers F.C. managers Dundee F.C. managers English Football League managers English Football League players Falkirk F.C. managers Footballers from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Greenock Morton F.C. players Hamilton Academical F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. managers Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Living people Millwall F.C. players Raith Rovers F.C. players Scotland B international footballers Scotland international footballers Scotland under-21 international footballers Scottish Professional Football League managers Scottish Football League managers Scottish Football League players Scottish football managers Scottish footballers Scottish Premier League players St Johnstone F.C. players