Hartlepool United are delighted to announce that Paul Hartley has been appointed as the clubs new Manager.
Hartley (45), has been promoted five times as a manager and joins from Cove Rangers in Scotland following two promotions and leading the club to their highest ever league position in the Scottish Championship.
He achieved instant success in his first ever managerial role with Alloa Athletic, winning two successive promotions. He was then appointed as Dundee manager and led the Dens Park club back to the Scottish Premier Football League by winning the Scottish Championship in his first season. In the subsequent season he turned down an opportunity to manage Cardiff City and loyally steered Dundee to a sixth place finish in the Scottish Premiership.
Prior to managing, Hartley had a distinguished playing career with 25 caps for Scotland and prominent spells at Celtic, Hearts, Millwall, Bristol City and Aberdeen. He won the Scottish Cup with both Celticand Hearts as well as twice completing the Scottish double (winning the Scottish Premier Football League & Scottish Cup) with Celtic alongside playing Champions League football.
Hartley will be joined by Coach Gordon Young, continuing their partnership from Cove Rangers. Gordon, a highly respected coach and coach educator, has worked with Sheffield United, Dundee United and Motherwell in both academy and senior roles. He was formerly the assistant manager of the Latvia National Team and manager of top flight Latvian outfit Liepāja.
Paul Hartley commented:
“I’m absolutely delighted to be joining Hartlepool United. We have enjoyed our time at Cove Rangers immensely and are extremely proud of our achievements there but this is an opportunity that myself and Gordon couldn’t turn down. The club has truly incredible support from its fans and there is so much potential for this club to kick on.”
“I’ve had a number of meetings with the Chairman and Board to discuss and shape plans for how we will achieve success moving forward. It was very clear that the club has been transformed behind the scenes in recent years and there is a clear vision to be a well-run organisation, both on and off the field.”
“I’m an ambitious manager and I would only move to a club that I believe can provide the platform for building a team that wins. As a manager I want the supporters to know that I am a driven and hard-working person and we will produce a team that as a minimum always works extremely hard and is totally committed.”
“There is a lot of recruitment work to be done and we will begin that immediately, working closely with Head of Recruitment Chris Trotter.”
"Gordon and I are both very excited to be taking the job on at Hartlepool and I would like to thank the Chairman and Board for giving us this opportunity."
Hartlepool United Chairman Raj Singh added:
“There’s been an extensive process with a lot of candidates which has taken time, but we are very pleased to have now secured the services of both Paul and Gordon.”
“We looked closely at what they have both achieved previously, how they work and their potential match with Hartlepool United.”
“Paul has proven to be a winner throughout his career and he is clearly a very hard working and ambitious manager that has already had some remarkable managerial success. He is a manager and a coach and he has real clarity about how he and Gordon will take the job on. Gordon also comes with an excellent pedigree.”
“We spoke to numerous people privately about Paul from across the game and unanimously the opinion was to just go and get him.”
“We have discussed recruitment and how we will support Paul to improve the squad with a significantly increased budget this season, building on the work that has gone on over the past few years.”
“As a Board we are really looking forward to working with Paul and Gordon and I am confident the supporters will be right behind this appointment. I’m excited about what they can achieve with the team in the coming seasons.”