AS a Hearts player facing Hibs on Edinburgh derby day, Paul Hartley used to regard coming up against Scott Brown as a form of capital punishment. It wasn't until they shared a dressing room at Celtic that these two midfield firebrands stopped going head-to-head and started seeing eye-to-eye.
Now as Dundee manager, all he can do is stand back and admire how his midfield adversary-turned-accomplice has reinvented his game under Brendan Rodgers and attempt to devise ways to stop him. These are not always successful, as testified by Brown's winning goal in a meeting between the two teams at Dens Park in October.
"You could say we had a love-hate relationship," said Hartley. "We used to kick lumps out of each other in the derby games. It was really like that. He was one of those players I used to hate playing against. Hated it. He would always be in your face, saying stuff to you. It wasn’t until he came to Celtic and we were team-mates that you see he is such a terrific lad."
Hartley was speaking at Hampden yesterday to promote the Scotland national team's forthcoming fixtures. While there is the possibility of a international friendly before it, the two main dates for the diary are the meeting with Slovenia at the end of March, then a revenge mission against England in mid June.
The Dundee manager has more invested in Scotland's success than some. Gordon Strachan is a friend and confidant who still chips in with assistance as he works his way through the coaching ranks, while Hartley feels that it is in everyone's best interests that Brown's return from international retirement lasts longer than one match, the ultimately disappointing 3-0 defeat to England in November.
While the idea of a player picking and choosing his international matches in this manner hasn't been universally popular - Charlie Adam for one took umbrage at the selection process under Strachan - Hartley says he wouldn't have minded as a player because quite simply you can't have too many good players when it comes to Scotland.
"It wouldn't have bothered me," said Hartley. "Just having a good player in the team would have been enough for me. What are his assets? His drive, his leadership, his strength, his experience. The way he's led with Celtic this season has been there to see. He's been the best player in Scotland."
Including friendlies, Celtic have played 44 matches already this season prior to jetting off to Dubai this week and Brown has been a virtual ever-present. "It looks like he's coping," said Hartley. "It looks like it's no problem to him. He looks as though he has the same kind of energy he had when he burst on to the scene as a youngster at Hibs. But he's probably a little more defensive than he used to be. And his game management now is a lot, lot better. When he first came on the scene he would get an amount of bookings for fouls but he plays now with a real maturity. "
As large as the revenge mission against Gareth Southgate's side looms in June, Scotland have business to attend to first in their unlikely to mission to finish second in their section and reach a play-off place. That is against Srecko Katanec's Slovenia side, who just happened to also be the opponents on a fateful night in Maribor in 2005 when Hartley's only international goal put the icing on the cake of a 3-0 Scotland win. Sadly when these two teams met back in the Balkan nation last October, the mirror image of that result was the final score.
"It was a little chip," recalled Hartley. "But I think the three goals that night were terrific. [Darren] Fletcher scores a 25 yarder, [James] McFadden scores a great goal and I managed to get on the scoresheet as well. That was my only international goal but a good one at that. So terrific memories, but this is a big game for us. It is a game that we must win. There is no room for error."
Back in 2005, Scotland were finding their way under Walter Smith, and building momentum ahead of their Euro 2008 near miss. As bleak as our hopes of reaching Russia appear, Hartley feels the cause isn't entirely hopeless just yet. Wins against Slovenia and England before the end of the 2016-17 campaign would certainly change the national mood somewhat.
"I’m glad Gordon has stayed on," said Hartley. "He is a terrific manager and coaching on the training pitch is his strength. We have to remain positive and get behind him as much as we can. We do still have a chance. But we have got to win the majority of the games.
"Gordon took the job on and signed a contract," he added. "He wants to see it through as best he can. He has had to take the criticism. It’s not an easy job being the manager of your country, that’s for sure. Expectations in our country and far greater than a lot of others."
Also in fine fettle as 2017 begins is Craig Gordon, his fellow member of the Tynecastle three, who could quite well have given up on football by now after a serious knee problem. "Craig was out for roughly two years with injury and has shown great mental strength to come back from that," said Hartley. "He is a calm boy and has shown he can handle anything. He took a little bit of criticism for some of his performances this season but he is top class goalkeeper. I’ve seen changes this season in his distribution. You can see Craig has done a lot on that part of his game."
*Paul Hartley was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is a proud sponsor of the Scotland national team.
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