THE enduring image is of a midfielder driven by a tenacious intent, forthright, impassioned.
Bearded. The facial hair remains but there is still something very different about Paul Hartley these days. Since taking over as manager of Alloa Athletic in the summer his ardour has been quelled, or at least channelled in a more constructive way. There is still something of the intensity which made him such a popular player for the likes of Hearts, Celtic and Bristol City, but he is looking more and more settled as a manager.
His players have certainly taken to the new Hartley; Alloa have established a nine-point lead at the top of the third division, a run of 14 matches unbeaten augmented by 10 wins. The visit of Berwick Rangers this afternoon seems more like an inconvenience than a league match.
It is that form which predicated his award as the IRN-BRU third division manager of the month for January. Hartley received his trophy at Hampden this week, a moment which provoked a flash of his former terseness. "I got one in September and we all know what happened after that . . ." he says, snarling slightly at the thought of the 5-0 defeat by Elgin City that followed that award.
After a playing career in which he was continually referred to as a late bloomer – he did not earn his first Scotland cap until the age of 28 – Hartley seems intent on making an immediate impression as a manager. With his club having been relegated from the second division and further discomfited by the sacking of Allan Maitland, Hartley has been afforded little time to adjust to the nuances of management, forced instead to learn on the job.
"In the first couple of months if we got a bad result, a defeat or a bad draw, then I would be very low, and then if we won I was on a high. Now I try and remain in between – I never get too high or too low. It's a fine balance," he says.
If his reputation as a player attracted a few recognisable names to the part-time club – captain Darren Young, Graeme Holmes and Robbie Winters all have top-flight experience – then he has shown enough nous as a coach to enable his side to enjoy formidable league form. He has also brought a freshness to the lower leagues, defying conventional wisdom by relying more on the promise of players such as Stevie May and Kevin Cawley, who have scored 19 goals between them this season, rather than the experience of those like Armand One, who has squeezed his beefy frame through the gates of six Scottish Football League clubs in his career.
Alloa's league position has justified that decision; although there is a chance Hartley would have been reluctant to change his mind anyway given it was his principles that led to his role in the 'Riccarton Three' and his refusal to distance himself from that incident three years ago, when a return to Tynecastle was mooted. The 35-year-old has proven willing to relent on some things, though.
"We train two nights a week; we have them in at 6.30 and start at seven, but sometimes there are guys running late because of their work or the traffic," he says. "You maybe need to give them a bit of leeway; the guys are coming straight from their work and maybe haven't had something to eat. It's completely different from being full-time where everything is there for you.
"I've had to be a little more patient with the players that I'm working with. We have got good players, but if you come in from a Premier League team and are used to a certain standard then you have to be a bit more patient and take time with the boys, talk to them and try and coach them a bit more," he added.
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