Martindale tips George to be a safe pair of hands for Livi in Rangers baptism of fire

DAVID MARTINDALE will hand new Livingston goalkeeper Shamal George a baptism of fire in the SPFL opener against Rangers on Saturday. Livi paid around £85,000 to snap up George from Colchester United on a four-year deal, the first time they have paid a significant transfer fee during Martindale’s time at the club. The Lions boss has handed the former Liverpool keeper the No 1 jersey and insists the 24-year-old will instantly be his first-choice between the sticks this season. Martindale was moved to look for a new goalie after concerns over the form of Max Stryjek and Ivan Konovalov. And he is convinced that George (right) will prove well worth Livi’s investment further down the line. He said: ‘Shamal will make his debut, one million per cent. I’m not bringing in a No1 to sit on the bench. I’ve not given the No1 to anybody here since Liam Kelly left (in 2019). So it’s nice to have the No 1 on the back of somebody’s shirt. ‘There was interest from the (English) Championship and I think there were clubs sitting by the wayside waiting to get him on a free contract in January. Colchester played hardball but we got there in the end. ‘Since I’ve been at the club, we’ve maybe paid three or four grand in compensation for players from Ireland, but we’ve never paid a significant sum of money to bring in a player. So it shows how highly I rate him.’ Martindale added: ‘It’s a huge investment, but it’s an investment I think we’ll get a fair return on. ‘A four-year contract is a massive commitment but if you pay any money, you can’t afford to bring boys in for two years. If you spread his wages and the cost over the four years, it makes it more affordable for us. Whereas, if he was a two-year contract, with the transfer fee and his wages, you would probably say: “It’s too rich”. We’ve invested in Shamal, Shamal has invested in us, and our job is now to make Shamal a better player — and then move him back down to the English market.’