Hartley’s journey to enlightenment
● Motherwell midfielder views Betfred Cup final as reward for tough times in his career
Charting his movements since departing Sunderland eight years ago, Peter Hartley accepts he had become something of a journeyman.
Stops off at Hartlepool, Plymouth Argyle, Stevenage, Bristol Rovers and Blackpool, from whom he is currently on loan at Motherwell, convey the impression of a footballer simply keeping on keeping on. But the midfielder is keen to stress the positives of scuffing around the lower regions of the English game.
He describes an eventful, fulfilling journey on which he’s found personal enlightenment.
That’s not to say he will adopt a Zen-like pose and levitate from the Hampden Park tunnel on Sunday, when Motherwell take on Celtic in the Betfred Cup final. But he is treating the occasion as a reward for all those hard times he has endured since being allowed to leave Sunderland in 2009, having made just one appearance. There were times, he admitted, when he would happily have retaliated as emotions ran high in his hometown after Hartlepool were relegated under John Hughes in 2013. “You’re only human, aren’t you?” he says.
Indeed, Hartley experienced successive relegations, going down with Stevenage to League Two the following season. “It was the best thing that ever happened to my career,” he says now. “It turned me from a boy to a man very quickly as you realise nothing in the game is given. You’ve got to work very hard and think there’s always next week.
“The worst moment was when I was captain of Hartlepool and we were relegated. It is my hometown club and I found it very difficult to walk around the streets.
“I had a dog’s life and that’s why it turned me into a man from a boy because it wasn’t just a job, it affected my day-today life. I couldn’t pop to Asda without taking pelters but you have to deal with it in a professional way. You can’t give back as much as you’re getting but I was young and learned from it and here I am today.”
The double blow of taking the drop in successive seasons – Hartley also lost a League Two play-off final with Plymouth Argyle in 2016, alongside current skipper Carl Mchugh – saw him decide to make changes in his own life. He went on holiday with his wife and resolved to broaden his horizons.
“I broke everything down because you question yourself a lot and you look yourself in the mirror and see what you could have done better to try and effect things differently,” says Hartley. He began reading more, particularly self-help books such as the enduring Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, originally published in 1937. “I tried to change my mindset and tried to read a few types of books and went down a different path,” he says. “I never read books before and I also tried visualisation techniques, which were also new to me before games.
“If you look at my career from those two relegations I then went on to play back-toback play-offs and got back into League One with Bristol Rovers last season. Now I’m in the Betfred Cup final with Motherwell, so my approach has helped me.”
Hartley turns 30 in April and is enjoying a late-career upturn in fortunes. “I’m in my prime,” he says.
Now he stands 90 minutes away from a first cup winner’s medal. He dismisses claims Motherwell will seek to strong-arm their way to victory after Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers voiced concerns about the Fir Park side’s robust approach in their semifinal win over Rangers. He claims Stephen Robinson’s side always intend to stay on the right side of the law.
“I wouldn’t say we are a dirty team,” he says. “It’s a contact sport. If you don’t want contact then play basketball. Scottish football is very physical as well. If you look at our yellow card record in the league we are sixth so I wouldn’t say we are dirty.
“I’d imagine Brendan Rodgers is very clever and meticulous with the things he says. He says everything for a reason, but I can’t speak for him. It is his opinion. All we care about is everyone in that dressing room. We know we have a job to do. If we take the physicality out of our game then we are not going to be the same team. If we play Celtic at their own game then they will beat us. We have to try and make Celtic play our game.”
“I wouldn’t say we are a dirty team. It’s a contact sport. If you don’t want contact then play basketball”
PETER HARTLEY