THE transition of the armband from one player to another can be a situation fraught with difficulty, but there was never the potential for dressing room unrest at Motherwell as Peter Hartley assumed the responsibility from

teammate Carl McHugh.

The pair are close friends, and McHugh had confided in Hartley over the summer that he was thinking of approaching manager Stephen Robinson with an eye to passing on the honour, as he felt it was hampering his game.

Hartley is certain that he can still produce his best form while shouldering that burden, and he is also confident that Motherwell will see the best of McHugh now that he can play with a greater freedom.

“You’ll never see a smoother transition,” said Hartley. “Carl McHugh is literally my best mate in football so to get the armband from him is an honour.

“We chatted about it a lot before I was relevant to the situation. I spoke to him about it over the summer as a friend because he didn’t really know where his head was at.

“It shows his character, when he’s led Motherwell into two cup finals and then thinks, ‘there’s more in the tank here and this is holding me back’.

“He wants to squeeze every single ounce out of himself and he’s prepared to do anything to get that.

“Was I surprised? I was, and I wasn’t. Carl’s a leader but he’s the type of character that needs to be let off the leash. He needs to be himself but sometimes as a captain you have certain responsibilities. We’ve seen how fiery Carl can be, he dives in to tackles and if you let him loose he’d lead naturally anyway without the burden of the captaincy over him.

“I think he feels a weight has been lifted from his shoulders and the best is yet to come from him.

“It could have been awkward, without a doubt. I’ve been in dressing rooms where the gaffer has just decided to take the captaincy off someone and given it to someone else without saying a word to them.

“I’ve seen atmospheres develop, cliques start to form. Thankfully myself and Carl are so close on and off the field and nothing has changed here.

“It’s an armband, I’m a leader anyway and I know what’s needed to take the next step. The type of person I am, I am a talker, an organiser and a leader anyway, and I don’t need to be captain to do that.

“Carl leads in a different way, but we have seven or eight boys in the dressing room who could easily do it.”

Hartley says that the way he plays lends itself naturally to flourishing in the role.

“I just try to lead by example,” he said. “I like to know what the manager wants from us on the pitch because it’s hard to get information in the heat of the moment.

“I want to be active and organised, and as a centre-half, everything is in front of me so if I can be proactive and install the good habits and the philosophy we are being told by the manager, it makes all our jobs easier.”

Hartley is well aware too that the captaincy comes with responsibilities both on and off the field of play, and he will have to prove just as adept in those areas if he is to curry favour with his team-mates.

“We’ll find out if I’m a good negotiator when it comes to bonuses – I might be the shortest reigning captain in Motherwell’s history,” he joked.

“I’m just an honest, approachable person, I know all the young lads and get on with everyone at the club. If anyone had any problems in the dressing room I hope I can be pulled aside

to help.”

The chief concern for Hartley at present is rediscovering his sharpness as he takes tentative steps back into first-team football after a seven-month injury lay-off.

He admits that he has been ring-rusty in run-outs in the Betfred Cup group stage at Stranraer and at the weekend against Clyde, but now he is focusing on getting back to his best so that he can make up for some of the experiences he missed out on last season, not least of all a second trip to Hampden to play in the Scottish Cup final.

“It’s been a frustrating spell and I’ve had to work hard to get pain free,” he said. “I’m grateful to be fit again and it’s nice to come back and get the captaincy.

“I had the play-off final then Hampden for the League Cup, but you never know when it will happen again for you. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.”