Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Relaxed Paul Hartley seeks patience as Cove Rangers chase first League One win

Hartley's side have picked up one point from their opening two matches, having been beaten at Hamilton Accies on the opening day before a 2-2 home draw with Falkirk.

Cove Rangers manager Paul Hartley
Cove Rangers manager Paul Hartley. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson.

Paul Hartley thinks patience is required as he remains upbeat about Cove Rangers’ League One season, despite a winless start.

The Balmoral Stadium outfit have picked up one point from their opening two matches, following a defeat at Hamilton Accies on the opening day before a 2-2 home draw with Falkirk last week.

Hartley’s side travel to Links Park on Saturday to face Montrose, who picked up their first win of the campaign against Annan Athletic.

Connor Scully is the only player from last season to be named in Cove’s opening two starting XIs, with the nine other outfield players being new signings, while goalkeeper Balint Demus spent last term on loan at Buckie Thistle.

Hartley refuses to make “excuses” for his rebuilt squad – having made 20 summer signings – but he remains upbeat about his side’s campaign.

Cove Rangers' Connor Scully
Connor Scully in action for Cove. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson.

Hartley said: “We don’t need to make any excuses about the team gelling, but it’s a new team. We’re two games into the season, so we’re not in panic mode.

“You’ve got to believe in the process and keep working. We’ve got good players and have key players who have been out missing.

“Mitch Megginson, Blair Yule, Fraser Fyvie have been out injured, and Paul McGowan was suspended last week.

“Once we’ve got all our players back, we have got a very strong squad.”

Megginson and Fyvie have returned to training – with the former to be assessed ahead of Saturday, while McGowan will return from suspension against the Gable Endies.

Hartley expecting ‘up and down’ season in League One

Of the three goals Cove have conceded over their opening games against Hamilton and Falkirk, two have been own-goals – and Hartley knows his side must cut out such errors in a league he is expecting to be determined by “fine margins”.

Hartley said: “It’s been disappointing the goals we’ve lost and the manner of them.

“With two of your players scoring own goals, it’s just about your body position and we’ve worked on that in training this week – about the ball coming into the box and how you defend it and where your body is.

“It was disappointing to lose the last-minute goal against Falkirk. It felt like a defeat, but there were a lot of plus points.

“We’re early into the season and we’re a new team, so it will take some time to gel, but this is League One. It’s going to be up and down for a lot of clubs.

Cove manager Paul Hartley throwing a water bottle in frustration after his side conceded a late equaliser against Falkirk. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson.

“We’ve just got to keep working hard and doing what we’re doing, and I’m sure we’ll start picking up the results.

“If you win three or four games on the bounce in this league, you’re going to be doing very well.”

Hartley is expecting another challenging contest against Montrose, saying: “They lost their first game of the season (against Kelty Hearts), but then got a good result last week, and that’s the league for you – it’s very strong.

“They have always got a good frontline in Rory McAllister and Kane Hester, and they’re two players who know the division very well and know where the goals are.

“We’ve got firepower as well, but the games against Montrose have always been very tough.”

Conversation