Paul Hartley Tribute
PAUL HARTLEY Tribute Former manager Paul Hartley knows the value of having a top class goalkeeper in any successful side. As a player, he counted Craig Gordon and Artur Boruc as team-mates and also had Allan McGregor and David Marshall behind him while turning out for Scotland. He inherited Stuart when taking over at Balmoral Stadium, but quickly recognised his importance to the side. During Paul’s time in charge, Cove Rangers played 86 league matches; Stuart started 81 of them. “He’s a really consistent keeper, and he did a brilliant job for me over the three years I was there. He hardly ever made any mistakes, kept so many clean sheets. He was someone you could trust between the sticks.” Last summer, Paul brought Kyle Gourlay to the club as he felt McKenzie needed more competition, but it wasn’t long before Stuart had reclaimed his place.
“I just felt it would be better for the team and for Stuart, I wanted to see how he would respond, and he didn’t let me down. Kyle started the season for me, but Stuart just kept his head down, worked hard and waited for his opportunity. When he got it, he took it with both hands.” Kyle played in the first five League One games of the season. Stuart was recalled for the 1-1 draw with Montrose last September, and kept his place for the remainder of the campaign. Paul was impressed by Stuart’s attitude and says he’s not a typical goalkeeper. “You know what goalies are usually like, they’re normally loud, extrovert, but Stuart’s not like that at all. He’s very quiet, he just goes about his business, and he makes saves. He’s also very good with the ball at his feet, which suited the way we wanted to play. He’s a dedicated professional, he was as good as gold for me, never gave me a moment’s bother and I’m delighted he’s being rewarded with a testimonial.”
