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Paul Hartley hits two major milestones when we take on Caley Thistle in Inverness on Saturday: his 200^th game as Cove Rangers manager and his 500^th in football management overall.

Having retired from playing because of injury, Paul moved into coaching with Alloa Athletic in the summer of 2011, and went to enjoy a hugely successful two and a half years at The Indodrill. It was, he believes, the ideal place for him to start on his new career:

“I got a phone call from Mike Mulraney asking if I’d be interested in the job, and it was a good time there, two promotions, and we took Alloa to the Championship. I started from scratch, had no players when I arrived, and managed to build a really good, strong team.”

His success there inevitably sparked interest among bigger clubs and early in 2014 he took over at Dens Park:

“I enjoyed working at Dundee. Having arrived in the February we won promotion on the final day against Dumbarton, taking them up to the Premier League, and we finished top six and eighth in the next two years.”

The one certainty in management is you will be sacked at some point, and after leaving Dens, and a troubled spell with Falkirk, Paul was out of the game for nine months until John Sheran stepped down as Cove Rangers boss due to ill-health. It was an opportunity he saw as too good to turn down:

“I met the Chairman back in 2019, looked at the plans and his ambition going forward – the five year target to get to the Championship, which we did in three – and overall we’ve enjoyed a lot of success here. A few lows, but that’s what happens in management, and in general it’s been a good time for me.”

His opening game in charge of Cove was a 2-1 League Cup defeat at Peterhead, but our League Two debut saw a 5-0 demolition of Edinburgh City, and it was to be a season to remember. Promotion that year was followed by disappointment in the playoffs in 2021, then the outstanding campaign during which we clinched the League One title and Championship football for the first time.

“That was obviously a highlight, and I was delighted for everyone at the club. It’s a great memory, and one I look back on with real pride.”

There was a brief hiatus at Hartlepool, a move Paul admits, with hindsight, was probably a mistake, before his return to Balmoral Stadium in January 2023. There was, he felt, unfinished business with Cove, and he is thrilled to be celebrating two notable milestones this weekend:

“I’ve had five promotions along the way, and a lot of managers don’t get to five hundred games, they don’t get to fifty, some don’t get to twenty games. The job is getting more and more difficult, so to reach the milestones I will this weekend, I’m proud of that.

“I still love the game, still get that buzz, and hopefully I can bring more success to Cove; that’s the aim.”

Our interview with Paul can be viewed at the Cove Rangers FC YouTube channel.

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