Paul Hartley has always regretted the fact suffering the knee injury that brought his playing career to a premature end meant he never managed to complete a full season for Aberdeen.

He gets some comfort from knowing he will always be remembered with affection by the Red Army for making one of the most amazing debuts every by a Dons player.

That was in the 4-0 opening day league victory Hamilton at Pittodrie, on August 14, 2010, when Paul netted a hat-trick of penalties.

He remains the only player to have managed that feat since the formation of the Scottish leagues was altered in 1998 – and was the first to score three times from the spot in any game since Donald Ford had done so for Hearts, against Morton, in 1973.

“It’s a game that will always be special to me,” said Paul, now aged 43 and manager of Aberdeen’s newest SPFL club, Cove Rangers.

“You always dream about making a good debut for a club, especially when you have also just been made team captain.

“Scoring those three penalties made it a very proud day for me, one that I will never forget.

“It came with a bit of pressure though, it’s hard enough having to take one penalty in your first match, never mind three.

“I was also up against a very good keeper in Tomas Cerny, who is at Aberdeen now.

“Thankfully I managed to make good contact with the ball, sending two of the penalties into one corner and the third in the opposite direction.”

Paul had scored hat-tricks before, including one for Hearts when they beat Edinburgh rivals Hibs in the semi-finals on the road to winning the Scottish Cup in 2006, but never in the manner he did that day at Pittodrie.

He said: “It was a great way to get off the mark and I was hoping it was just the start of what we were all hoping would be a successful campaign for the club, but it ended up being a strange season for me.

“Things weren’t that great in the middle and, of course, the end of it proved to be a bit of a nightmare because of the injury.

“But I’ve always said I still enjoyed my time at Aberdeen.

“It’s a fantastic club and it was an honour to be asked to play for them and be captain.

“I still enjoy going back to Pittodrie to watch the Dons and always hope for the best for them.

“Most players are the same when it comes to their former clubs.

“Even if you have been with a few you retain an affiliation, it’s difficult not too when playing for that club once meant so much to you.

“I was lucky to work with so many really good people there, including Stewart Milne, the chairman at the time.

“My only regret is that I wasn’t there long enough to help them come through what was a difficult time for Aberdeen.”

Mark McGhee was about to start his second full season in charge of the Dons when he decided to make his move for Paul, who also won 25 Scotland caps during an illustrious career, in the summer of 2010.

Paul was then with Bristol City, following his release from Celtic. He had won two league titles, the Scottish Cup and the League Cup during his two seasons with the Hoops, who had signed him from Hearts for £1.1 million in 2007. Hamilton-born Paul, who began his career with his hometown club and also played for Millwall, Raith Rovers and Hibs, was enjoying competing in the English Championship with Bristol but finding if difficult being away from his family, who were still staying in Scotland.

“I had made it known that I wanted to come back up the road,” said Paul.

“I had really enjoyed it with Bristol City but it also meant having to do a lot of travelling, which I didn’t like so much.

“There was some talk of a return to Hearts but nothing came of that.

“Then Aberdeen came in.

“I spoke to Mark first and then to Willie Miller (Aberdeen’s then football director) and things were agreed pretty quickly.

“I was excited by the prospect of playing for the Dons because they are a team with a fantastic tradition.

“My love for football began in the 1980s, when Aberdeen achieved so many great things with Willie as their captain.

“Most players would jump at the opportunity to play for them because of their history, which you see plenty evidence of as soon as you walk through the door at Pittodrie.

“It was an easy decision for me to make because I knew I was going to a good club, full of good people who were as hungry as I was to be successful.”

Paul was one of six signings made by Mark that summer, the others being striker Scott Vernon (Colchester United), Rory McArdle (Rochdale), Josh Magennis (Cardiff City), Yoann Folly (Plymouth Argyle) and Mark Howard (St Mirren).

Rangers striker Nikola Vujadinovic also arrived at the end of August as part of the loan deal that saw previous Dons skipper Richard Foster move to Ibrox.

“It was very much a transitional period for Aberdeen,” said Paul.

“Mark was looking to push on after what had a pretty difficult previous season for him and the club.

“We were all encouraged when we won our first two league games and also did well in the early rounds of the League Cup (the Dons actually reached the semis of both domestic cups that season).

“Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get going after that.

“Mark wasn’t helped by a spate of injuries, including a very bad one for young Fraser Fyvie, who was starting to make his breakthrough, when we played at Alloa in the League Cup.”

When results failed to improve, Mark left the club in the December.

“None of us were happy to see what happened to Mark,” said Paul.

“He had been a top class player for Aberdeen and was eager to do well as manager
too, but it just didn’t work out.”

Craig Brown and Archie Knox agreed to quit Motherwell to take over and were happy to continue with Paul as club captain.

“I really enjoyed playing for Craig and Archie,” said Paul.

“They deserve huge credit for the way they steadied the ship at that time.

“We beat Hibs 2-1 away in their first game and things began to pick up again.

“I was eager to play my part, especially with so many younger players involved at that time.

“But that ended when I played against St Mirren at Pittodrie in our League Cup quarter-final clash with them in the March.”

Paul lasted just 27 minutes of that tie before having to be replaced, by Derek Young, after suffering a serious knee injury.

“I knew straight away that it was a bad one,” said Paul.

“It was clear I would never be able to play at the levels I had been able to before so I eventually told Craig and Archie that I had made the decision to retire at the end of that season.

“I still had a year left on my contract with Aberdeen but we just tore that up.

“I could have kept on playing but it wouldn’t have been the in the way that I wanted to play.

“I had been told there was a chance I could have played on for another three to four years but when you have set certain standards for yourself it’s difficult to accept anything less.

“I had been a box to box midfielder who had always been willing to work hard but knew my body just wasn’t up to it any more.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to sell anyone short, particularly a club like Aberdeen.

“It was a tough decision to make, but it was the right one.”

Paul was immediately offered the opportunity to become player-manager of Alloa Athletic, who were playing in the SPFL’s lower tier at that time.

He said: “I was called player-manager but I never had any intention of actually turning out on a regular basis.

“I will always be grateful to Alloa for giving me the chance to embark on a different career within football.”

Paul led Alloa to back to back promotions before moving to Dundee, who were also promoted, up into the Premiership, under his management. He also spent a spell at Falkirk before accepting the offer to take over as manager of Cove Rangers last summer when John Sheran – who had led them to promotion from the Highland League into the SPFL – chose to retire.

“I’ve loved every minute of it so far,” said Paul.

“As was the case when I was at Pittodrie, I’m working for a great chairman and with some really good people.

“I have an excellent coaching staff and we are all desperate to bring success to Cove.”

The move to Balmoral Stadium also saw Paul reunited with a lot of players who were about Pittodrie when he was there, including Cove captain Mitch Megginson, defenders Scott Ross and Ryan Strachan and midfielders Jamie Masson and Jordon Brown.

Paul also signed Fraser Fyvie, who had gone on to win the English FA Cup (with Wigan) and Scottish Cup (with Hibs) and play for Dundee United after leaving the Dons in 2012.

“It’s been one of the major bonuses about working for Cove,” said Paul.

“I already knew a lot of the players and also knew they would be able to do an excellent job because they had come through the system at Aberdeen.

“I was delighted when Fraser then agreed to join us as well.

“It’s been great working with him again nine years on from when we were teammates at Pittodrie, he has been a big asset to us.

“Hopefully we will be able to work with a lot more players with Aberdeen connections in the years ahead because they would help us fulfil our ambitions to do well now that we are playing in the SPFL.

“Whether that’s through agreeing to take younger Aberdeen players in on loan – as we did with Chris Antoniazzi earlier this season – or by signing them after they leave Pittodrie remains to be seen.

“But I feel having a good relationship with Aberdeen is vital if we are to do as well as we hope.

“The loan system in particular could prove mutually beneficial.

“There comes a stage in every young player’s career when they need to go out and sample what it’s like playing regularly at a higher level than they get playing for reserve or youth sides.

“We are happy to help Aberdeen on that front because we know we would also be helping ourselves.”