Hartley delighted to give youngsters a platform at Cove

Paul Hartley hopes Declan Glass and Chris Antoniazzi use loan spells with Cove Rangers to enhance their full-time prospects.

Glass turned in an impressive display in the 3-2 defeat to Caley Thistle, after joining on loan from Dundee United, while Antoniazzi penned a similar deal from Aberdeen on Wednesday. The two young midfielders will be given a platform to impress at League 2’s newest club, with both having had loan spells last seasons.

Glass, who has made 10 senior appearances for United, was with Airdrieonians, while Antoniazzi was with fellow League 1 side Montrose.

Dons under-20s regular Antoniazzi comes into contention for tomorrow’s final Betfred Cup game against Raith Rovers and Hartley hopes Cove get the best out of the pair during their respective loan stints.

He said: “You need to go play real football against experienced players, rather than just under-20s. They need to test themselves and see if they can handle it.

“Declan was excellent on Tuesday night. He set up two goals, created chances on the ball and worked hard off it. Chris will be a different dimension for us in an attacking way. I spoke to (Montrose manager) Stewart Petrie and people at Aberdeen about him and, for us, it was a case of trying to get as many good players at the club as possible.”

Hartley is still keen to add to his squad, with injuries and suspensions meaning he was only able to name three outfield subs against Inverness. Mitch Megginson scored twice on his return to the first team, following a thigh injury, but was later sent off, ruling him out of tomorrow’s game.

He added: “It’s good to have him back but disappointing he’s not going to be involved on Saturday.

“We’ve had two players suspended in three games and it’s something we can’t afford to do in the league.”