I wore a suit when I was sent to prison... I won’t do it for final
MARTINDALE WILL BE CASUALLY DRESSED FOR SUCCESS
THERE is at least one title which David Martindale will gladly concede to Callum Davidson come Sunday. If there is such a thing as the best-dressed manager award at Hampden, the St Johnstone manager is welcome to it.
‘I’ve only worn a suit twice in my life and do you know what’s happened to me?’ Martindale asked. ‘The first time I was sent to prison and the second time was at my wedding. Which was worse? No comment!
‘So a suit brings back bad memories — I got six-and-a-half years and then I got married, so I won’t be doing it again.
‘The players won’t be wearing suits either. It’ll just be the normal training gear — could you imagine Efe Ambrose in a suit? That would put me off, so it’ll be tracksuits for everyone.
‘I’ll maybe text Callum and ask him to wear one too but he’ll probably put me to shame on the touchline.’
Some 17 years after Livingston last contested a national cup final, it is indeed a great pity that their manager doesn’t even have
I’ll maybe text Callum Davidson and ask him to wear a tracksuit too!
the option of that traditional squad outing to the local tailors.
The shadow of Covid-19 may slowly be lifting across the country but Sunday’s Betfred Cup final remains fully cast in it.
It’s the small details which normally distinguish showpiece occasions from run-of-the-mill matches that will be conspicuous by their absence. Even in a match of such significance, the financial cost of the pandemic isn’t lost.
‘For the semi-final, we took the boys to the Dakota (hotel) for a luxury pre-match lunch and they all enjoyed that,’ said Martindale.
‘But you need to stay overnight to have the lunch now and that adds another £3,000 to the cost for 30 people.
‘To be fair, most of us live only half an hour away, so we’d be going there to stay in a room by ourselves, wake up in the morning on our own and then going for our pre-match.
‘For our squad, that’s worthless, so we made the conscious decision to stay with our families, have something to eat with them and then head through to Hampden in our cars.
‘It’s disappointing that we can’t do something a bit special but that’s typical Livingston: we get to a cup final and there aren’t any fans allowed in to see it.
‘Last season we finished in the top six but didn’t get the financial benefit from that because the season was ended before the split. We didn’t earn a penny for that achievement.
‘It’s tough on our supporters that they can’t be there. But, on the positive side, they’re rolling out the vaccinations now and we shouldn’t be a million miles away from some kind of normality.
‘Hopefully, our fans are looking forward to watching the game on Sunday.’
Even if the final was being played in normal times, Martindale would be wary of upsetting his players’ routine.
It’s his belief that he shouldn’t have to do anything special for his squad to realise that this is a game like no other they will face in their careers.
He believes players are creatures of habit and is wary of the perils of disrupting that.
‘We’ll keep things as normal as possible — I don’t want to spook the boys,’ he said. ‘We won’t do anything different. That’s the way it’s been in my seven years here.
Although Martindale has spoken openly and at length about his previous involvement with organised crime and his time in prison, Livingston’s appearance in a major cup final makes it impossible not to reference it again.
To his credit, the 46-year-old has never shirked a single question on the matter before or since the SFA deemed him to be a fit-and-proper person.
He recognises that the story of his journey from a jail cell to the Hampden technical area is, to say the very least, highly unusual.
For as long as he survives and prospers in football management, he will remain a high-profile example to others of what is achievable if you are determined to make the most of the second chance society grants you.
‘I’ve had generic messages about how well we are doing, good luck in the cup final, glad you got passed fit and proper — stuff like that,’ he said.
‘The front office still get the odd email too. It’s nice to read other people saying that stuff and hearing they find it inspirational.
‘Generally they are well-wishers or someone who has been in a dark place themselves and read my story and taken a bit of inspiration from it.
‘It’s nice when people recognise the achievements of the club and myself.’
Martindale hopes to be able to pick his starting side for the final from a full compliment — minus a couple of long-term injuries.
‘Everyone except Keaghan Jacobs and Alan Lithgow is available,’ he said.
‘Scott Robinson and Marvin Bartley trained today and are good to go.
‘We’ll be doing work on our shape tomorrow, so I’m not far away. But I’m a great believer that boys can talk themselves out of the team by how they perform in training.’