Returning to his old club Falkirk makes no difference to Cove Rangers manager Paul Hartley.
The Bairns dismissed Hartley in August 2018 after a winless start to the Championship season, however the former Scotland international has found a successful new home with Cove Rangers.
Successive promotions and a promising start to the League One campaign sees Cove head to The Falkirk Stadium as leaders, with a four-point advantage over today’s opponents.
Since he took over last summer, Cove led League Two from start to finish and have carried on that momentum into the new campaign. Heading back to his last club does not carry any extra significance for Hartley.
He said: “I always look forward, I don’t look behind. Whatever happened in my time there happened. It’s not something I particularly talk about.
“I just look forward to going back as the Cove manager. It won’t make any difference to me.
“I’m enjoying working where I am. I don’t look back. I enjoy the job that I’m in and the people I’m working with.”
Four wins from four, including one over full-time opponents Partick Thistle, has given Cove a well-earned position atop the pile.
In this shortened campaign – reduced by nine games to 27 – a strong start to the season was always going to be crucial to every team’s aspirations.
While there are pleasing aspects of how the Aberdeen outfit have come out of the blocks, Hartley will not be getting too carried away.
He said: “It’s going well but we’re only four games into the season. I always said we had to start well and that’s credit to the players, how they’ve worked.
“We’ll never get carried away with where we are now. There’s a long way to go and we’ll try accumulate as many points as we can. It’ll be a game at a time for us.
“We always felt the first half-a-dozen games was key and we’ve had a good start so far. There’s a lot of hard work to do but I’ve got to give the players so much credit.”
Falkirk have started with two wins and two draws from their first four games, dropping points against Forfar at home and Partick away.
However, under ex-Aberdeen forward Lee Miller and David McCaracken – formerly of Peterhead – they are widely expected to challenge for promotion as one of the three full-time teams in League One.
Hartley added: “It’s just another game for us – it doesn’t matter who the opposition is. It’s a league we’re enjoying.
“Away to Falkirk is as tough as they come but our preparations will all be the same.
“It’s a test for us, hopefully it’s a test for them. They’re full-time, they’re one of the favourites and have a really strong, experienced squad.
“The expectation levels are not too high for us in this league and we don’t feel any pressure going into today. We’ll try perform the way we’ve been doing.”
Jamie Masson misses the game through suspension while Dan Higgins is a doubt with a hamstring injury.