THE ODD COUPLE
Martindale and Courts proving inexperience is not a barrier to shine as boss
AT first glance, there seems little in common between Thomas Courts and David Martindale. The former is the softly-spoken former recruitment company worker who has masterminded Dundee United’s eye-opening early season renaissance after his surprise summer promotion from the Tannadice academy.
The latter is the straight-talking former prisoner who famously rehabilitated himself after being jailed for drug dealing and led Livingston to a League Cup final.
They may be very different personalities but Liam Fox, current No 2 to Courts at Dundee United and assistant to Martindale at Livi last season, believes there are comparisons to be drawn between the two men.
From their shared lack of a professional playing background to taking their first senior football managerial post in the unforgiving glare of the Scottish Premiership spotlight, right down to the way working outside the professional game has shaped their approach to the job.
‘In the sense that they have both taken different paths into the job, there are similarities there,’ said Fox.
‘I think you probably do take a different perspective into the job.
‘I can see from working with the manager and from working with Davie that they have both got skills from other things that they have done previously in their lives.
‘That can be good for a lot of different things, like recruiting players, dealing with people, and dealing with different situations. It definitely helps.
‘They are different characters but the game throws up these different characters.
‘Both of them love their football. That’s another thing they have in common. And I’m sure they both want to be a success.’
Fox was Martindale’s assistant when Livingston went a remarkable 14 matches without defeat last season between November and February.
His knowledge of his old boss’ motivational methods means it was not unexpected to see Livi end their recent sticky spell by winning back-to-back at St Johnstone and Ross County.
‘I’m not at all surprised that Davie’s turned things around,’ said Fox.
‘They’ve just come off the back of a couple of great results.
‘It’s not that long ago that Davie was forgetting what it felt like to lose during that long unbeaten run. It just shows you that football can change very quickly.’
Similarly, the fickleness of the game’s gods means United are not getting ahead of themselves despite being just three points off the top of the Premiership after ten games.
It is a remarkable start under Courts, the ex-Kelty Hearts boss, who was released as a player by Livingston in 2002 at the age of 21.
His appointment as Micky Mellon’s successor at Tannadice in the summer drew an animated response that Courts described at the time as ‘an energy’ he wanted to harness and redirect on to the pitch.
So does his right-hand man feel the 39-year-old is proving his doubters wrong with United’s fine start to the campaign?
‘That’s a question you would probably need to ask the manager,’ Fox shrugged, while deputising for Courts on media duties at St Andrews yesterday.
‘I think he would probably tell you that he believes in what we are doing here.
‘But there’s no point getting too carried away because, in two or three weeks’ time, you could have a wee sticky spell. That’s what happens in football.’
Martindale certainly sees parallels in Courts’ career path and he hopes the United boss’ current success is sustained. But not tomorrow night when the Tannadice side visit the Tony Macaroni Arena.
‘I think Tam has done a brilliant job,’ said the Livingston boss.
‘Tam and I know of each other. We exchanged emails years ago when I first came into Livingston and Tam was at Kelty. And I played at Broxburn and Tam was still playing with Kelty.
‘It is nice to see people outwith former professional footballers getting a chance in management, very, very similar to myself.
‘I was lucky as I was allowed to grow organically behind the scenes at Livingston while Tam was thrown into the deep end.
‘We have both reached the same destination by a different route but it is nice to see.’
Martindale, who had been Livingston’s assistant manager, stepped up to take the reins from Gary Holt last November and led Livingston to a sixth-place finish, despite the club having the smallest budget in the league.
They are building momentum this season after climbing up to ninth on the back of those consecutive away victories over St Johnstone and Ross County.
And Martindale insists managers who did not have striking careers in the professional game as players can still more than contribute in the technical area.
‘I don’t mean this disrespectfully to former pros but I think football management and coaching is heading in a different way,’ he said.
‘It is becoming more data and scientifically driven and there are more academic managers coming through.
‘I went to university and Tam has had a lot of life skills outside of football.
‘You look at guys like Jurgen Klopp, Jose Mourinho and Thomas Tuchel. There are a lot who have not played at the highest level. It is no longer a closed shop to just professional footballers.
‘There is a lot more statistical input in football and that changes the way owners and chairmen hire people.
‘Do I want to see guys like Tam being successful? Of course I do!’