I was told at 18 I wasn’t good enough ... that guy’s coaching kids now
Marvellous Marvin aims to make it a cup double in Scotland
MARVIN Bartley was making points long before his innate articulacy made him a perfect fit for the Sportscene sofa come Saturday night.
The drive behind the Livingston midfielder’s career can be attributed to his long-standing desire to succeed when he encountered a sharp difference of opinion on that matter in his formative years.
Over 300 professional games later in the colours of Bournemouth, Burnley, Leyton Orient and Hibernian, his longevity in football has been the perfect riposte.
‘I was playing for a team called Burnham in probably the fourth tier of non-league football, so quite far outside League Two,’ he recalled.
‘I was playing with both my brothers in that team and one day the manager just came up to me and said: “You’re not good enough to play at this level, you won’t make it, but good luck to you”. It was as blunt as that.
‘That was probably a turning point for me, because I could have listened to his opinion, dropped down a few levels and been playing local Saturday football. Or I could prove him wrong.
‘The most important thing is I kept self-belief and it’s borne fruit because I’ve gone on to have a professional career while he coaches an Under-10s team now.’
There are those who have gone further in the game who he takes equal delight in proving wrong.
Bartley was 29 when he first moved to Scotland after signing for Hibs and recalls the chorus that proclaimed he was moving to a footballing backwater.
Asked if he has a distribution list on standby in the event that there is another golden moment worthy of sharing with a wider audience tomorrow, the response is a grin from ear to ear.
‘I hope some of the managers and people who said to me that I was basically going up to Scotland to retire because I didn’t want the hustle and bustle of playing down in England anymore, hopefully they can look at it now and say I made the right decision,’ he added.
‘The majority of them are now out of work, so one of us made the right decision and a few of them made the wrong decision. It would be nice to win the cup, then send a few pictures to the managers who said I was coming up here to semi-retire.’
Part of the Hibs’ squad that ended the club’s 104-year wait for the Scottish Cup when they beat Rangers in 2016, the point has surely already been made.
As historic as that day was, completing the set by lifting the League Cup with Livingston would arguably be a bigger achievement.
Deprived of the resources of the big-city clubs, it’s demonstrably more difficult for the likes of Livvy and St Johnstone to reach this stage.
Bartley will never tire of telling the story of how the Easter Road side led, fell behind and came back to win the trophy at the death that day. On such thin margins, history turns.
‘We have been talking about it this week,’ he said. ‘You get very few opportunities in your career to do something like this. No disrespect to us, but who expected Livingston to be in a cup final?
‘Some of us as players, no matter how young or how old you are, it will probably be our last one if we are being totally honest.
‘It’s not only about lifting the trophy and everyone saying “well done”. It’s about going home to your families, seeing your kids, parents and partners and it is such a great time for everyone. We are in charge of our own destiny at this moment in time, so Sunday is a huge game for us and we need to go out and perform.’
That year Hibs experienced hugely contrasting emotions at Hampden. Two months previously, they were second best to Ross County in the League Cup final. Bartley can attest to how long that sinking feeling can linger for.
‘That disappointment did not leave me for a very long time,’ he admitted. ‘Even after winning the Scottish Cup, you think: “I could have had both”. That is not a disappointment I want to feel again.
‘If I can transfer that hurt and tell the boys that is how it felt to lose in a final after probably not performing as well as you could have… there’s no worse feeling.’
Few players complete the set of domestic cup medals. Far fewer do so in the colours of different teams who are not exactly regulars on the winner’s podium.
‘It will almost be like a perfect end — well, not end to a career, because I have another year left, but nearing the end,’ Bartley said of his skipper’s role.
‘It will be a perfect time for me to do this. At 18 years of age, I was
getting released by an amateur team. Here I am at 34 with a possibility of winning a national cup and having a Scottish Cup already. These are not things I would have dreamt of, especially at that age.’
As reasons go to be excused his duties as a respected analyst this weekend, it’s certainly not the worst. You’d pay good money to watch his next Sportscene engagement, though, in the event of a Livvy triumph.
Never a man to sit on the fence, Michael Stewart’s prediction of a St Johnstone victory last week was duly noted. Consider him added to the list.
‘I was not surprised,’ Bartley laughed. ‘When he started saying Saints can go all the way, I thought: “Wow, he is going to go with them, isn’t he?”.
‘I was going to slide tackle him on set if I am honest! Listen, it is his opinion, it’s a 50-50 final.
‘There will be a lot of people who doubt us. But then people were doubting when I signed, saying you will probably get relegated, and then we finished fifth.
‘And then this season again: “Oh, they are going to really struggle after a bad start, you boys are not fit to wear the shirt”. All the stuff you are used to hearing.
‘Now, all of a sudden, everyone is your pal because you are fifth in the league and in a cup final. I have tweets saved (saying) that I was not so brilliant at the start of the season, same with my team-mates.
‘We know what we are about. We know the opinion we have of each other is the most important thing at this moment in time.’ l Marvin Bartley was speaking to promote Premier Sports’ live and exclusive coverage of the Betfred Cup final, Livingston v St Johnstone on Sunday from 1pm. Premier Sports is available on Sky, Virgin TV and the Premier Player. Prices start from £9.99 per month.”