Martindale changes narrative to drive Livingston revival

"I'm in with the bricks and mortar, and if that changes I'm happy to shake everybody's hand and move on."

David Martindale isn't a man who beats about the bush.

The straightest talker in Scottish football stood on 19 May last year in front of the cameras. His team relegated and with new ownership coming into the club, the Livingston manager found it difficult to see what they future would hold for him.

One year on, he was standing in the middle of a party, surrounded by pizza boxes, spilled beer and raucous footballers, conducting a chorus of celebration at their instant return to the Scottish Premiership.

Livingston's route back to the top was in Martindale's own image - through hard graft and adversity.

While the Premiership play-off final win over Ross County may have looked convincing with a 4-2 scoreline on the night and a 5-3 aggregate, they had to deal with losing a late equaliser on Thursday before then going 2-0 down in the Highlands.

Even to get to this stage, nothing was straightforward. For so long Livingston were in the title hunt with eventual Championship winners Falkirk, only to fall away as the season hit the home straight to finish three points behind.

Partick Thistle were then despatched 4-0 over both play-off semi-final ties, teeing up a date with a Ross County side without a win in 10.

"I'm really proud of the players, really proud of the staff. I get the credit but this isn't about me," said Martindale in Dingwall, surrounded by supporters.

"The players showed personality, they showed character. That was my players out on the park tonight and I'm so proud of them."

Martindale's teams in the Premiership were renowned for being awful to play against. Physical. Aggressive. In your face.

Coupled with an ageing plastic pitch, watching silky soccer wasn't a Saturday staple for the Livi support.

However, since dropping down to the Championship, he has taken the opportunity to rebuild and rethink. Quality players like Lewis Smith, who scored his side's fine first in Dingwall, Robbie Muirhead and Stevie May were recruited.

Combined with a solid core in defence, Livingston finished the Championship with the second best goal difference of 28.

"They've reinvented themselves, this is what one year in the Championship has allowed them to do," said former Livingston boss John Robertson on Sportsound.

"Martindale's recruited really good football players. They play good football which is not something you associate with a Livingston team who've had to find a way to stay in the league for six years."

BBC Scotland pundit Michael Stewart added: "He drives a lot of it, he's recruited really well, they play good football, they've got new investment and you heard it from the man himself the club are in a really good position."

There will perhaps be a few football fans disappointed with the result of Monday's play-off final.

Partly because of the aforementioned combative style used by Livingston in their previous stint in the top flight. Partly because of their rather modest support. Partly because of the denial of a cracking away day to Dingwall when the football returns after the summer...

Some supporters will also not be overly happy with the prospect of another team with an artificial pitch - along with Falkirk and Kilmarnock - being added to the Premiership. A few quips from the Livingston social media admin pointed towards the club perhaps not being the most popular.

But none of that will matter to Martindale and his players.

Calvin Ford, the great-great-grandson of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford, has recently become the club's majority shareholder. "There's a good foundation here, let's build this better and get this club back where it belongs, back in the [Scottish Premiership] and then let's see where we can go from there because I think there's a tonne of potential there," he said earlier this month.

So with fresh investment, and also a fresh new artificial surface being laid, it's quite possible that the Livingston returning to the top flight will be a far different beast to the one which departed 12 months ago.

What looks set to remain the same this close season though, is their manager.

"David Martindale is an integral part of the club," added Stewart. "You've got to give him a lot of credit this season.

"He himself saying Calvin Ford has reinvigorated him and you can see that. David Martindale is such an integral part not just for the obvious reasons, last season it looked as if the fire had started to dwindle in him and they got relegated you look at him this season and you could sense it was bubbling away in him again.

"They've got back up to the top flight and I do think he is such a strong part of that club."