Queen of the South manager Marvin Bartley shares his thoughts on taking on job in Dumfries

Queen of the South manager Marvin Bartley said he is delighted to have taken the job in Dumfries as his first step into management.

The former Livingston assistant manager has been appointed at Queens following the dismissal of Wullie Gibson.

The former Hibernian and Burnley midfielder can't wait to get started with his new side, he said: "I am delighted. I am excited. A little bit nervous, really all of those things mixed together, but mostly delighted.

"After the interview I was really delighted when I came out, I thought things went really well.

"It is an ambitious club with the same ambitions as mine which aligned. I said to myself when I got in the car that if that call came then I was going to accept it."

“When the call came I said 'thank you for giving me this opportunity'."

Bartley enjoyed a successful playing career that saw him play both north and south of the border.

A Scottish Cup winner with Hibs, Bartley hung up his boots with Livingston at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.

Bartley believes the transition from player into management can be a tricky one, although something he is looking forward to, he said: "The difference is I can’t play. I can’t do anything out there.

"But, I worked hard throughout my career and I will continue that now.

"I am going to need to be a lot smarter with what I do now, dealing with a lot of different characters.

"I am looking forward to it. I believe in myself.

"I would not be here if I didn’t and the board would not have me here if they didn’t believe in me.

"I will show the fans exactly what we are about when we get on that pitch.”

Bartley believes that the last eight years he has spent in Scotland as a player and in a coaching role at Livingston is the perfect experience he needs to be the manager at Palmerston.

The new Queens manager said: "Football is like a universal language, we all love football and love to see it played a certain way.

"I have been here for eight years now, I have been taking in a lot of football in many different leagues, whether I have been playing or watching them.

"You have this thing called Wyscout where you can watch as many games as you want.

"My partner will tell you that I have been watching plenty of the Queens games.

"Knowledge is important but what is really important is doing work on the training ground and the most important thing is doing it in matches."

Support from his family and friends has always been important to Bartley throughout his career.

When revealing the news of his appointment Bartley explained how his mother was overcome: "I spoke to my mum and she was in tears.

"I spoke to my dad who thinks he is the hardest man in the world and I think he had a wee tear in his eye.

"My family are extremely excited about it and extremely proud. They always have been throughout my football career."

With Queen of the South struggling near the wrong end of League One Bartley has a tough job on his hands to turn fortunes season around.

Bartley believes he is the right man for the job and wanted to send a message to supporters as to what they can expect when watching his side.

"You have someone at the helm who is going to give 100%," Bartley said.

He continued: "I am sure the other managers will have done that as well.

"The team will reflect that, we will give everything we have got.

"Will we win every game, no we won’t, but there is a way to losing games, working hard on and off the ball, keeping the ball and trying to play the best possible football that we can.

"I just want to make the supporters proud and hopefully we can do that."

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