Dee boss Hartley knows how Gers players will feel
PAUL HARTLEY reckons Rangers will be labouring under a major burden at Dens Park today.
The controversial departure of Mark Warburton as Gers gaffer has created a full-blown media circus around the Ibrox club.
Having endured the turmoil sparked by Vladimir Romanov’s reign at Hearts, Dundee boss Hartley knows how it feels to play for a club under siege.
Along with fellow rebels Steven Pressley and Craig Gordon, Hartley was one of the “Riccarton Three”, who took a brave stand against the madcap Lithuanian’s antics.
He knows that more scrutiny means more pressure. And he is hopeful that the Gers’ head-spun stars will be too spooked to cope.
He said: “We know all the attention is going to be on Rangers – that might be a good thing for us.
“We are a bit of a sideshow which means we can go about our business.
“Nobody will be bothering what Dundee are trying to do.
“When you’re in a situation like Rangers are, every day is constant scrutiny. I had that at Hearts with the owner and the change of manager.
“It does become a bit of a burden, that total focus all the time. That will continue until they appoint the new manager.
“It is all players hear. It is all anybody wants to talk about.
“After games it is not about on the pitch, it is about what is happening off the pitch.
“All the other stuff is something you really don’t want to deal with.
“When you are at the bigger clubs then it becomes more and more.”
Hartley, Pressley and Gordon were branded “traitors” by former Hearts owner Romanov over their public stand against his running of the club.
All three eventually left the Jam Tarts.
But Hartley believes the strength of character they showed spoke volumes – a test that Rangers’ players must now also subject themselves to.
“You need strong characters,” said the Dundee boss.
“At Hearts we had a real strong dressing-room.
“As a player you always want stability. You want to know who the manager is.
“I have seen a big change in terms of what the
players want over the past five years.
“They want to know their jobs, what they are doing and what system they are going to play.
“Here, every day the players walk into the dressing-room and it is up on the smart board what training session we are going to do.
“They are not coming into the unknown.”
The Gers have declared that caretaker Gers boss Graeme Murty will remain in charge for “the foreseeable future”.
Nevertheless, Alex McLeish is the bookies’ favourite to become the next permanent Ibrox gaffer.
For Hartley, that would be an ideal appointment.
“He signed me at Hibs and I always got on well with him. He was a good man manager,” he said.
“His record at Rangers speaks for itself.
“Man management is his strongest point. He is very good with players and knowing how they feel.
“I had a decent spell at Scotland with him. He knows the expectation at the club.
“If you are looking for someone to come and make an impact then Alex would be ideal.”