Davie is Livi-d at cup flop
David Martindale offered Livingston’s fuming fans an apology after an “unacceptable” Scottish Cup defeat to Inverness.
And the Lions gaffer held his hands up for his own part in a shock defeat that continued a failure to get beyond the last 16 during his time in charge.
Martindale has been tipped as a candidate for the top job at Aberdeen but his struggle in the Scottish Cup was a bigger focus for the gaffer in the build-up to their clash with Caley Thistle.
And he admitted the Almondvale men once again came up well short as they crashed out at the hands of their Championship visitors.
He said: “I’m not accepting that. I’m not accepting that from me, first and foremost.
“But I’m not accepting it from the players either.
“I feel as if I owe the fans an apology too. We have no divine right to win that game but the manner of the loss is what I am unhappy with.
“But huge credit to Inverness. I hope they do well in the competition and credit to Billy Dodds and his players.”
Martindale admitted he would have to assess his own role in the defeat and would take any flak coming his way.
The 48-year-old, who side haven’t reached the quarter-finals since 2005, said: “I need to have a look at the squad, the players and how I set the team up.
“I need to look at the selection and the players have to take their part in it.
“This was a huge opportunity for us and I shouldn’t have to talk about losing 3-0 at home here. I wouldn’t expect that to happen to us against most Premiership teams so I don’t expect that to happen in the cup against anyone.
“But ultimately the buck stops with me.
“I deserve criticism because it’s me who picked those boys.”