IT'S TAKEN ME 13 YEARS TO BE AN OVERNIGHT SUCCESS...

FOR Paul Hartley, the path to stardom has been a long and winding road that's featured more dead ends than green lights.

The 29-year-old midfielder began his education at Hamilton in 1993 but it has taken him until now to fully graduate from football's school of hard knocks.

Hartley bagged his first ever winner's medal on Saturday as he helped Hearts beat Gretna in the Scottish Cup Final on penalties and yesterday followed that success with another gong when he was named SPL sponsors Bank of Scotland player of the season.

He could look back on his career and feel bitter that he never received adulation until now.

But Hartley insists he wouldn't have had it any other way as he's a firm believer in the old adage that the best things come to those who wait.

And now he's itching to taste yet more success with Hearts.

Hartley said: "For me to win my first major honour in football was just an unbelievable feeling.

"To share the Scottish Cup success with my family and friends is what it was all about for me.

"I've come up the hard way where it has taken me 13 years to become an overnight success and finally win my first trophy.

"I've came through some tough times in my career at Hamilton Accies, Raith Rovers, Millwall, Hibs and St Johnstone.

"But it just shows that hard work does pay off and all those years of disappointment are well worth it for days like Saturday. I have found my spiritual home at Hearts and this is the right club for me.

"I always believed in my ability and felt it was about finding the right club and playing under the right manager and I've found all that at Hearts.

"Everything just seemed to click when I got here and I played under a manager, Craig Levein, who believed in me.

"Being an ex-Hibs player it took the fans a while to fully accept me but when they did they were absolutely magnificent.

"I worked ever so hard on my game and success for some people comes quicker than others but it has been well worth the wait."

But the fighting goes on. Whereas before it could have been described as a personal crusade, Hartley now knows the battle lies in proving to the sceptics that Hearts are no one-season wonders.

And he has called on Jambos owner Vladimir Romanov to fling open his war chest for an assault on the Champions League.

Hartley said: "Hearts have shown this season we can challenge for the SPL title.

"We have to make improvements to the squad if we want to get through to the group stage of the Champions League.

"I am sure Mr Romanov will spend more money again as as we do not want this to be a one-season wonder.

"The squad is so strong and we all want the same things.

"We want to be successful and don't want this feeling to last for just one season.

"Hopefully Hearts can keep improving.

"The Scottish Cup win is beginning to sink in now and the weekend was absolutely terrific.

"But we deserve it for the season we've had.

"We proved we had staying power by lasting the distance in the campaign, finishing second and clinching a Champions League place.

"The next piece in the jigsaw was to show we could win silverware.

"That is why it was important to come to Glasgow and Hampden Park to prove we could win honours.

"Gretna deserve enormous credit and Hearts did look a tired team on the day but the bottom line was winning the Scottish Cup and we did that.

"The boys were dead on their feet but all that mattered was to prove that Hearts could be winners."

Hartley admitted he was gobsmacked as almost 100,000 Jambos fans lined the streets of Edinburgh to see their heroes parade the Scottish Cup on Sunday.

The Scotland star insists it was a privilege to ride upon an open-top bus and experience such unbridled joy, something he knows Old Firm players will never sample.

Hartley said: "We saw by the Jambos fans' reaction on Sunday what winning the Cup meant to them.

"The bus ride from the City Chambers to Tynecastle was an unbelievable experience and there were about 100,000 lining the streets. Those scenes of celebration will live with me forever.

"Even Old Firm players do not have the privilege of being able to do something like that.

"I bet Celtic and Rangers' cup-winning sides would love to ride in an open-top bus in Glasgow and take the acclaim of their supporters because it is an incredible feeling to be able to do that."

Hartley reckons that far from being a distraction, the off-field problems actually helped the squad hit the heights.

He said: "We have spoken enough about how the team spirit in the Hearts dressing room was magnificent all season.

"All the off-field problems just had a galvanising effect on the team and made us all stronger.

"The players never felt at any stage of the season that it would all come crashing round about our ears. There was just too much to play for and we had worked so hard from the start of the season right through until May to let things slip away at the final hurdle.

"We were all pulling together in the same direction and all the squad was desperate for success.

"It truly has been a remarkable season for Hearts and none of the players will ever forget the memories we have from it.

"The last nine months have been, without a shadow of a doubt, the pinnacle of my career. Now I want to experience more days like Saturday with Hearts."

Taken from the Daily Record