Paul Hartley appointed as new Falkirk manager
Thursday 5 October 2017 14:32, UK
Paul Hartley has been appointed as the new manager of Falkirk, a club he says has "massive untapped potential".
Hartley has been out of work since being sacked by Dundee in April after a run of seven consecutive defeats, but he is "excited" by the prospect of reviving the Championship strugglers.
He said: "I am absolutely delighted to be back in management and to have been given this opportunity with a club the size of Falkirk.
"Throughout my discussions with the club it is clear to me that there is massive untapped potential here and I am looking forward to working with the players, staff and board to deliver on that as soon as possible.
"I am coming to a club with an impressive infrastructure, stadium and fanbase. All the discussions I have held so far have been extremely positive and I am excited to get to work with the players."
Alex Smith will remain in interim charge of the first team for Saturday's Challenge Cup match against Dunfermline, before Hartley takes over officially on Monday morning.
Margaret Lang, chair of Falkirk, said: "We are thrilled to be able to announce Paul as our new head coach. His passion for football shone through throughout all of the discussions we had and the board and I firmly believe he is the man capable of leading the club forward.
"We have big aspirations and ambitions for the club and in Paul we see someone who shares those and can help us realise our target of reaching the Premiership and most importantly staying there for the long term."
The former Hearts and Celtic midfielder made an impressive start in management by achieving three successive promotions in his first three seasons, twice with Alloa Athletic before then steering Dundee back into the Scottish top flight in 2014.
He replaces Peter Houston who left the Bairns last week after three years in charge at the Falkirk stadium.
Houston led Falkirk to the Premiership play-offs on two occasions, losing to Kilmarnock in the 2016 final and falling to Dundee United in this year's semi-final.
They are currently eighth in the Championship standings having won just one of their opening eight games.
