Martindale sees Celtic’s side of story
DAVID Martindale insists he has every sympathy for Celtic following the latest twist in their Covid-19 crisis.
But he is adamant Livingston will ignore the Parkhead club’s on-going plight and prepare for tomorrow night’s match like they would for any other meeting with the reigning champions.
Livingston were left hugely disappointed by their failure to take all three points from Parkhead at the weekend.
Against a home side seriously weakened by the absence of 13 players ordered to self-isolate in the wake of their Dubai training camp, Martindale felt they could have had more than a goalless draw.
Neil Lennon will be back in the dugout with a near fullstrength squad for the rematch after coming out of quarantine.
But Celtic have been rocked again by the news that one of their self-isolating players has now tested positive for the virus.
And, with an angry Lennon furiously rounding on the club’s critics, Martindale insists he feels for tomorrow’s opponents.
He said: “It is horrific for Celtic, to be honest. I have a lot of sympathy for them.
“This is really difficult to control. They have gone to Dubai and everything is off the back of that.
“But that player could have picked it up outwith the trip.
“Now Celtic are back and there is another case.
“I wouldn’t wish this on any club. I think we all have to stick together and help each other.
“I have sympathy for what Celtic are going through as I wouldn’t want to be going through it. It’s not great and it could happen to anyone of us.
“But we will not focus on who is playing for Celtic and who isn’t. I couldn’t care about what the team might be.
“The Celtic team will be the best they can put out on the park.
“You look at the Old Firm game and the team they put out at Ibrox. It was a 4-4-2 diamond and they gave a good account of themselves.
“I would expect it to be a very similar team to that one.
“But the Celtic line-up won’t come into our thinking.”
Saturday’s stalemate was the first time in nine games since Martindale took charge that they have failed to win.
But, buoyed by last season’s 2-0 victory against Celtic, the home manager is confident they can return to winning ways.
Martindale, who could hand a debut to new signing Gavin Reilly, added: “It’s another tough game and Celtic will be back with an almost fullstrength squad. That makes it a bit tougher for us again.
“But we are at home and there is no reason why we can’t pick three points up.
“We’ve done well in the past against Celtic teams at Livingston, so there’s no reason why it should be any different on Wednesday.”
Meanwhile, Martindale faces another anxious wait over his Scottish FA clearance after Wednesday’s Hampden hearing was delayed for a second time.
The Livingston boss is facing a probe into whether he can be deemed a ‘fit and proper person’ because of his previous conviction and six-year prison sentence for drugs offences.
But the original meeting was cancelled last Monday due to the SFA’s handling of Scottish football’s growing coronavirus problem. And a revised time for Wednesday’s new date then led to a clash with the visit of Celtic, resulting in a second postponement.
Martindale said: “The hearing on Wednesday has been cancelled but I don’t have another date yet.”