Paul Hartley is drawing inspiration from Celtic’s dramatic title triumph of 2008 as he prepares to lead Dundee back into the SPL.
A win against Dumbarton at Dens Park tomorrow will clinch promotion for the Dark Blues and give the former Celtic midfielder a unique set of medals having won championships for Alloa Athletic in the last two seasons.
Six years ago Hartley teamed up with Barry Robson to drive Celtic to the title, winning their last eight matches despite the SPL season being extended to benefit Rangers.
Those experiences will be called on in the build up to tomorrow’s match with the Dundee boss looking forward to the tension and excitement of the day with both Falkirk and Hamilton capable of pipping Dundee to automatic promition.
“I’ve been involved in this kind of situation as a player and I just tried to enjoy the game and make sure I did my best,” Hartley recalled. “You don’t want to have any regrets and that will be the key thing.
“I remember the Thursday night when Celtic beat United to win the league on the last day. That was special. Ourselves and Rangers were going for the title. We had to win the last seven games of the season – including two Old Firm games – and we managed to do that.
“We knew then we had to go and win the game and it’s the same for us on Saturday. People talk about a draw possibly being good enough but we can’t rely on that – we must be positive.
“This time there’s three teams fighting it out but we’re in the driving seat and want to remain there. As a player I always felt confident and comfortable and as a manager I feel good.
“You’re in the job hopefully to get success. I started the season at Alloa and the aim was to try and stay in the league. I left there and the aim was to try and win the league. I want to do that and become a Premiership manager which is what I set out to do on my first day at Alloa.”
Hamilton are at home to relegated Morton while Falkirk face Alloa. Neil Doncaster is expected to be among the 10,000 fans at a sold out Dens Park to watch the post-Armageddon clash.
