I'll Play My Heart Out For Scotland

Feb 3 2008 By Mark Guidi

Paul Hartley Exclusive

PAUL HARTLEY knows George Burley better than most and reckons he'll instill a total belief in the Scotland players that they'll qualify for the 2010 World Cup Finals.

Hartley played for Burley in the Hearts side that went top of the SPL in 2005 after a sensational start which took them to a record eight wins on the trot and saw the Jambos go unbeaten in their first 12 games.

That kind of record helped Burley land the Scotland job and Hartley is looking forward to being under his guidance again as they meet up today for a three-day squad get-together at Loch Lomond.

The Celtic midfielder said: "This is the first time we've been together since we lost to Italy.

"It would be nice to be looking forward to the Euro 2008 Finals but it's not to be. It was a good campaign but we have to move on.

"Alex McLeish has left and I can understand his reasons. He wanted club football again and you have to respect that. He felt the time was right for him.

"The pull of the English Premiership can be too much and Alex has been given an opportunity. I wish him, Roy Aitken and Andy Watson well at Birmingham.

"George is now the manager and it is a great appointment. I know him well from playing under him at Tynecastle and I enjoyed every minute of it.

"I signed a contract extension at Hearts when George was there and it was mainly because of him I agreed to stay. I was so disappointed when he left.

"It's hypothetical now but I believe Hearts would have given Celtic a strong challenge for the title that season had he stayed on and there had been continuity.

"George is a hands-on manager and his training sessions are first class.

"I know for sure the players will enjoy working for him and he will get the best out of the squad. You only need to look at the way Craig Gordon and Andy Webster developed under him.

"George had the total respect of the Hearts players and we listened to his every word. His man-management skills are exceptional and you want to win games for him.

"We had a lively dressing-room at that time but when he walked in there was silence. He said his piece and we all knew where we stood, what we had to do in the game that day.

"It was simple and it was to the point.

"In a short space of time George had us playing attractive football and trying to keep the ball on the deck.

"He also had us believing we could win every game. And we pretty much managed to do that under him.

"It will be the same with Scotland. We have the squad get-together this week and probably a couple of friendlies before the World Cup qualifiers start.

"By the time we come to play in Macedonia and Iceland in September, George will have us believing we can beat any side.

"I think we have that in us just now. After winning in France and doing well against Italy and Ukraine the confidence is high.

"It is vital we get off to a good start. To take full points from both games would be different class but four from six would be more than decent. We're all desperate to get to the World Cup in South Africa. George wants it and so do the players.

"Some of us aren't getting any younger and this might be our last chance.

"We need to take it and go a step further than the 2008 campaign."

Hartley won't forget the feelgood atmosphere in the country in the build-up to the Italy game in November.

And Paul would love the same again in this campaign - but for the outcome to be a happier one.

He said: "We had the toughest group ever the last time and at least it has been a bit kinder to us this time.

"That's not to say we'll underestimate Norway, Macedonia and Iceland. But we'd rather have that than Italy, France, Ukraine and Georgia again.

"Holland will be favourites and there is no argument with that. But we have to believe we can upset the odds.

"We will be expected to do well and I'm sure we can cope with the pressure.

"Our last game is against Holland at Hampden and if the scenario was that we had to beat them to qualify we'd be comfortable with that.

"The whole nation would be behind us and it would be great to see their reaction to qualification. We came so close last time and I'd hate to go through that disappointment again.

"At the very least we want to reach the play-offs and take it from there.

"The players will be ready and George will have us well prepared.

"You could see from his interviews he is passionate about this job and he'll get every ounce out of us.

"We have good players in the squad and the experience of the 2008 campaign has been vital.

"The likes of Barry Ferguson, Darren Fletcher, Scott Brown, James McFadden and Lee McCulloch will all be ready for the next two years.

"And we aim to make it a successful period - the most successful for Scotland in the past decade."