[3] The newspaper also said that McCartney "was intelligent, jovial and had great presence",[3] and described his ultimate failure to win a major trophy as "unthinkably cruel".
[4] When he took the manager position at Hearts he had the task of rebuilding a team that had been decimated by the First World War, including three dead on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
[2] Hearts improved through the rest of McCartney's time, particularly after the signing of prolific goalscorer Barney Battles, Jr. in 1928, but defensive frailties meant that they did not win any trophies.
[7] McCartney developed a strong group of younger players,[7] but the club suffered a humiliating defeat in the 1937–38 Scottish Cup by Edinburgh City.
[10] These restrictions were soon relaxed to allow games to be played in the cities, subject to Home Office permission, but the league was regionalised.
[17] Hibs finished that season as runners-up in both of the main competitions, second to Rangers in the league and 2–1 losers to Aberdeen in the 1947 Scottish Cup Final.
Hibs started the 1947–48 season strongly, and were top of the league in January ahead of a key match against Rangers at Ibrox.