We cleared the decks of the big names and high earners, starting before relegation and continuing that summer. Hartford was the only one who stayed on, with the likes of Corrigan, Cross, Tueart, McDonald and Reeves, plus squad players such as Boyer and Bodak, shown the door.
IIRC, we did have offers for Hartford but I think Billy McNeill saw him as someone whose quality would help us to dominate the midfield at that level and whose experience would be useful alongside the various young players who'd be in the side. It didn't work, though, as Asa got a bad injury early in the 1983/4 season and made only seven appearances in total (which is probably why you don't remember him being there at that time).