MARTINDALE TELLS LIVVY HE WANTS TO BE BOSS

DAVID MARTINDALE has told Livingston he wants to become the club’s next boss. Martindale, who serves as both assistant manager and head of football operations, held talks with chairman Robert Wilson and chief executive John Ward earlier this week and informed them of his desire to take over after Gary Holt’s surprise exit. He is convinced he could make the step up from being right-hand man to Holt, Kenny Miller, David Hopkin and Mark Burchill. But Martindale insists the club must come first in the hunt for the next man — even if that means he follows Holt out the door. He said: ‘I spoke to Robert and John on Monday and I half put my hat in the ring. If they think it’s the road we want to go down I’d be delighted and honoured to do it. ‘But I’m also of the opinion if the club want to go down the route that we’ve gone down previously I’m happy to do that also. ‘If the club want to kick me out then I’ll leave. You have to put the club’s interests before your own. ‘Would I like the job? I think I would. There’s no use beating about the bush. ‘But I wouldn’t want that to hamper someone coming in if the club want to go down a different route. I’m more than comfortable for the club to make that decision.’ Martindale — who led the team to a 4-0 win over Ayr United last weekend — joined Livingston as a coach in 2014 from Broxburn Athletic and insists he never envisaged moving into frontline management. But, with skipper Marvin Bartley claiming Martindale has the overwhelming backing of the players, the 46-year-old is confident in his ability to move out of the shadows. Preparing for the visit of Covid-hit Dundee United tomorrow, he added: ‘I didn’t come into Livingston to be manager one day. But I didn’t come in to be the assistant or head of football operations. ‘They have developed and it’s happened organically. I never thought I’d be in this position. I was more than happy to come in and pick the cones up and assist someone. But my role has progressively got bigger. ‘Everyone knows it’s not like a normal assistant role. I’ve always worked very closely with the manager. ‘Could I do that job myself? I think I’m more than capable. ‘There’s a fantastic infrastructure now, when maybe three or four years ago there wasn’t. ‘We arrived in the Premiership and were miles off it. Now we’re on a stable footing, we’ve got good people on the board. ‘I have a great bunch of staff around me. Things are a lot better, which would make any transition that wee bit easier.’