Hartley believes football will return stronger than ever
Cove Rangers manager Paul Hartley is finding life without football difficult.
However, the former Hearts, Hibs, Celtic and Scotland midfielder refuses to allow himself to be depressed by the current lockdown.
In fact, he argues that the national sport will bounce back from this crisis to become more popular than ever, whenever the Government finally gives the green light to start again.
Hartley is convinced that being without football for four or five months will remind fans of just how much they love it, and that clubs who are struggling to deal with the lack of cash flow at the moment will eventually cash in at the turnstiles.
“The way things are right now, it’s very difficult to imagine that we’ll be back playing again before August or September,” admitted the 43-year-old.
“Obviously, that’s not a state of affairs anyone wanted, but I’m a positive person. I believe that crowds will come rushing back once this is all over.
“For the last 15 years or so, football has been 24/7 for 52 weeks of the year, what with international qualifiers going into the summer, plus World Cups, European Championships and clubs having qualifying rounds for the two European competitions.
“You don’t have the opportunity to miss it.
“Now, though, it’ll be like it was when we were kids. Back then, one season would finish in May, and the next season wouldn’t start until August.
“As a result, after a couple of months without it, you’d be desperate to go and watch pre-season friendlies!
“I think that we’ll see a similar impact this time around as well, and that people will come back in force to football grounds.
“People who’d stopped going, for whatever reason, will return and there could even be a new generation of younger supporters coming along as well.
“We need to be able to take some kind of positive from the present situation, and I believe that this could be it.”
Meanwhile, like the rest of his peers, Hartley is waiting to discover his fate.
The season could be halted, with present placings maintained, which would leave Cove – 13 points clear at the top of League Two with eight games left – crowned as champions.
Alternatively, the season could be declared void, or the SPFL could announce that their would be three leagues of 14 clubs, which would leave Hartley’s men in the bottom tier. “We could all do with some clarity,” he claimed. “People need to be able to plan ahead and that’s not possible for most of us.
“Fortunately, most of our players are tied down for the next couple of years.
“That’s unusual for a part-time club, where contracts are usually signed on a season-by-season basis.
“But the fact I already know that our key players will be here next year helps, because it gives us continuity.”