Perth boss Callum full of praise for his opposite number
St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson last night paid to tribute to the miracle worked by David Martindale at Livingston.
At the start of the month, Davidson halted Livi’s stunning unbeaten run at 14 matches when masterminding his side to a win in West Lothian.
That success, though, has neither given him false hope for today’s B e t f re d L e a g u e Cu p Final nor blinded him to the scale of the job Martindale has done at the Tony Macaroni Stadium.
“It’s tremendous what David has done. Look at the form they have been in,” said Davidson.
“To take a team from the foot of the table into the top six in that space of time is incredible.
“You can only applaud what they’ve done and what he’s done.
“Since they beat us in Perth then have really been on an incredible r un. You have to be very impressed by what he has done in the last few months.
“He ha s got good people behind him and you know from hearing him on the sidelines the work ethic he has.
“I think the mostimportant thing is that the Livingston players have belief in him, they have really bought into what he’s asked them to do.”
Wi t h M a r t i n d a l e’s side seven points ahead of their opponents in the Premiership, Livi will go into the tie as slight favourites with the bookmakers – an assessment which pleases Davidson.
“I think it suits a club like St Johnstone to be the underdog,” he said.
“I prefer to play down expectations. I think it is sometimes better to say little, because when I was a player I knew what I had to do in games.
“For me, Livingston probably shade it because of their league form.
“Listen, my job is to get my players to perform to the level we need to be at. But it’s ultimately up to the players when they go out on the pitch.
“I had belief in the group of players when I took them ov e r, I added a few to what we already had.
“I have been seven years as an assistant manager, so have plenty of experience behind me.
“I always hoped I’d do something special for St Johnstone and hopefully t h at ca n happen this weekend.”
And in the process bring a smile to the face of his former tennis coach, Judy Murray, and her sons Andy and Jamie, friends of the Saints boss since his early days growing up as a sporting prodigy in Dunblane.
“It was nice to see the nice words coming from the Murrays,” he said.
“I speak to Jamie most, but I’m not sure they’re talking to me now after beating Hi b s in the semi-final!”