I’m ready to be Livi manager
Martindale reckons the time is right for Lions
Livingston interim boss David Martindale says his body of work at the club has given him the belief that he can succeed in management.
Martindale has been assistant manager with the Lions for five years and is the favourite to be appointed Gary Holt’s successor following an impressive run of results as interim head coach.
He turned the job down following the departure of David Hopkin in May 2018 as the club prepared for life in the top flight, citing a lack of experience at that level, but after two-and-a-half seasons as right- hand man in the Premiership he backs himself to take the next step if given the chance.
Speaking to the Courier, he commented: “When David Hopkin left and the board said they wanted me to take the job, I thought I had no Premiership experience, either as a player or coach, and it wasn’t the time for me or the club.
“Really all I had at that time was 18 months in the Championship and a season in League One but after a couple of months in the Premiership, I knew I could do it.
“The recruitment was generally down to myself. I had a part to say in the team, tactics and coaching under Gary (Holt). When you start getting results against the likes of Rangers and Celtic you begin believing in yourself.”
He added: “It’s the players on the park, obviously, who make the difference. Any manager or coach is only as good as their recruitment. If you bring in five or six bad players, or you don’t spend enough time recruiting and scouting then you’re going to struggle. At Livingston, we don’t have the resources of a vast scouting network or anything like that so everything was me and Hoppy, me and Holty, working together as a team.
“That’s the way it had to work and it worked really well.
“Finances have had to dictate what happens here so I’ve had to be the one dealing largely with the recruitment over the last four or five years.
“I don’t think there’s a single player at the club who I haven’t recruited and helped bring in and that plays a part in making the transition to management that bit easier.”