The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Pools switch ‘not about the money’
Former Scotland boss Craig Levein insists money wasn’t the driving factor in Paul Hartley leaving Cove Rangers for Hartlepool.
Former Dundee manager Hartley, who has just guided Cove into the Championship, was lured away from the north-east of Scotland to join the English League Two side on Friday night.
After initially rejecting the chance to move to Pools, the former Scotland, Aberdeen, Hearts and Celtic star was persuaded to make the move away from the Balmoral Stadium.
However, speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Sportsound, Hartley’s former boss at Hearts had his say.
Levein reckons the move to the English full-time club happened to progress his rise up the managerial ladder after leading parttime Cove to two title wins in just three years.
He said: “This won’t be about money. This will be about opportunity.
“I went down to (manage) Leicester. I made a mistake – it was the wrong club. Opportunities (like this) don’t come along that often and sometimes you have to go in at a lower level and prove yourself, which I think is Paul’s reasoning for taking this job.
“He wants to go to England where there is a bigger pool (of clubs). He is a good manager and he’s proven that already at Cove as well as some of his other jobs.”
Dons legend Willie Miller, also on the Saturday afternoon show, was asked who could replace Hartley, with Aberdeen coach Barry Robson suggested to him.
He said: “It is a hard act to follow after what Paul Hartley has managed to achieve. It’s a huge challenge.
“I think we’d all agree when you’re invited in as a new manager you’d much rather be invited in on the back of poor performances as opposed to good performances in the hope you can turn it around.
“Do Cove look for more experience? Do they look for a younger manager, like Barry Robson, which would allow him to come in and really make his stamp on it. It’s a big challenge in the Championship.
“You have to have a look around and see who is available. It is important that they are available. It’s not as if they are attached to a club and you have to get permission from the club to talk to them.
“You pull together a shortlist and whittle it down to maybe three or four and have conversations at board level as to who you feel would be the best fit.”
Cove chairman Keith Moorhouse insisted on Friday that the Aberdeen club won’t stand still as an outfit after highly-rated Hartley moved on.
He said: “We obviously have a few names in mind, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I hadn’t already drawn up a shortlist, but we are open to suggestions, and I’m sure this will be an attractive position to many within the game.
“Whoever takes up the reins, they will get the same backing Paul enjoyed. The journey doesn’t end just because the manager has left.
“As a club we have realistic ambitions for the next few years, and they will be implemented irrespective of who is running the team.
“We will support the new man just as we have our previous managers, and I remain as confident and positive about the future as I have always been.”
Hartley, 45, will be joined in Hartlepool by his longtime assistant Gordon Young, who was with him at Falkirk.
Pools were promoted to League Two last year and finished 17th in the table last season.
They have gone through a whopping eight bosses since 2017-18 and their latest manager Graeme Lee was sacked at the start of May.