There was definitely an element of surprise at Paul Hartley opting to leave Cove Rangers for English League Two side Hartlepool United.
Cove fitted Hartley and Hartley fitted Cove. His working relationship with chairman Keith Moorhouse was such that he could just focus on the football side of his job, with few distractions. It was a setup he thrived on and got the results on the park.
There is a saying about not getting too comfortable where you are but Cove seemed to be shifting forwards enough, so things would not be going stale.
Ultimately full-time football proved to be a big lure, something which may well be in Cove’s future but at this time they are not able to offer. Given much of Hartley’s professional career, as a player and manager, has been spent in that environment, it is understandable he would miss it.
Players were driven on to new levels under Hartley. Mitch Megginson already had a reputation as a supreme goalscorer but that has only improved in his three years working under Hartley. He has two yearly awards to show for it.
Harry Milne emerged into one of the finest players in the lower-leagues during his time at Cove and deservedly earned his move to full-time football with Partick Thistle.
Morgyn Neill, Connor Scully and Blair Yule all found extra strings to their bow while Fraser Fyvie and Rory McAllister got new leases of life moving to Cove.
He had played a huge part in driving up the standards on the field. Cove have been in the SPFL for three seasons and their worst finish is third. It has been an incredible period.
The job to replace Hartley will be a significant one. But any new manager will be finding a hugely successful team which knows how to win. That is a characteristic which does not leave with Hartley.
The biggest challenge may be the timing of it. Cove are due to return to pre-season in three weeks and as yet, have not made a signing. Their first friendly game is against Dunfermline Athletic on June 25.
Any new manager is going to have to come in and hit the ground running with recruitment. Hartley targeted half-a-dozen players he felt were needed to strengthen for the Championship, so I doubt it’ll be too much different from what the new boss will want.
It is a huge appointment to get right but Moorhouse has already highlighted how appealing a job it will be. There will definitely be some interesting applicants keen to show they can take Cove to the next level.
Whether it is an experienced head, a young coach keen to make a name on his own or a manager who has fallen on hard times, like Hartley had in 2019, they will take over at a hugely exciting time as Cove prepare for their Championship debut.
They have been and will remain an ambitious club. Eyebrows were perhaps raised a little when Hartley opted to join a new-to-the-league part-time club in 2019 but it proved to be a masterstroke.
Do not be surprised if another big name replaces him in the dugout at the Balmoral Stadium this summer. Strides are already being made off the park to improve the club for its next big step and if you are judging them by their past actions, Cove will follow that up with big moves on the field.