Livingston

Livingston manager David Martindale tells BBC Scotland their game-plan "almost" paid off.

"We defended our 18-yard box bar that moment extremely well.

"There was a lot to like in the game, albeit we probably gave away a wee bit too much territory.

"A couple of players were making their Premiership debuts in the Scottish Premiership this season. Jack Hamilton with his first start of the season and Miles [Welch-Hayes] came in and played very well.

"It's hard to be overcritical of the players because I thought their shape, distances and application within the game was there.

"No one likes losing games of football, but there is a way of losing football and tonight was a lot closer to that than it has been in the previous two games."

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Image source, BBC Sport

Did you make the short trip to the capital to take in Livi's 1-0 defeat to Hearts? Or did you take in the game elsewhere?

Either way, we want to hear from you.

Give us your verdict on the game here.

Brian McLauchlin, BBC Sport Scotland at Tynecastle

Rarely have I witnessed such a one sided game at Tynecastle, but in the end one goal was enough to send the home fans away happy with the result.

Steven Naismith has been under pressure in recent weeks but his team tonight never allowed Livingston a chance to get a foothold in the match.

Jack Hamilton in the visitors goal kept Hearts at bay for most of the game, but there was nothing he could do about the winner from Vargas.

The three points will do Hearts a power of good ahead of Sunday's semi-final.

For Livingston, their defence stood tall for most of the game and on another day could have held on for the draw.

Livingston manager David Martindale tells BBC Sportsound of his last 48 hours...

"Dave [Black] contacted me saying St Johnstone want permission to speak to you and I said I'll come in and speak to you in the morning. I think I have been very vocal over the years, I do know if people think I am not telling the truth, I've not got a contract - but I don't need a contract.

"If I say I am going to do something, I am going to do it. I have always said my future will be decided by the people at Livingston, not Davie Martaindale.

"I went in and spoke to Dave, asked what is happening and he said, 'we don't want you to leave'. Right no bother, and I went back downstairs and took training.

"If the board had said they think I should go and speak to St Johnstone, then I would have gone and spoke to St Johnstone."

On his career ambitions, he added: "I don't come into work not to be at Livingston. I trust people that I have worked with for 10 years. They have my word, if they want me here at Livingston, I will be here.

"If something in the future came that was a no-brainer, then I trust the people at Livingston to do what is right not just for Livingston, but for David Martindale.

"Livingston changed my life, they gave me a career in professional football, and I'll honour my word. I love being the manager of Livingston.

"It's not a big deal!"

Hearts XI: Clark, Kent, Rowles, Kingsley, Forrest, Devlin, Baningime, Cochrane, Lowry, Shankland, Boyce.

Substitutes: McGovern, Haring, Grant, Nieuwenhof, Oda, Halliday, Sibbick, Offiah, Vargas.

Livingston XI: Hamilton, Penrice, Devlin, Welch-Hayes, Kelly, Holt, Sangare, Kelly, Pittman, Nouble, Shinnie.

Substitutes: George, Parkes, Anderson, MacKay, Brandon, Bradley, De Lucas, Lloyd, Lawal.

Follow our live coverage.

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Martin Watt, BBC Sport Scotland

“I will never leave Livingston, not off my own back, I don’t care whatever jobs I’m linked with. Livingston's changed my life and I've been very vocal on that."

The words of David Martindale last month now carry extra significance in the wake of St Johnstone's attempt to prise him away from West Lothian.

Martindale insisted that his exit, whenever it comes, will be dictated by the Livi hierarchy. And should that hold true, it looks like Saints' hopes of making Martindale their new manager are doomed to failure after their initial approach was rejected.

Martindale's sterling work in his three years at the helm show why he is attracting admiration from elsewhere.

Since taking the reins following Gary Holt's resignation in November 2020, initially on an interim basis, Martindale has worked wonders on the lowest budget in the top flight, steering Livi to sixth, seventh and eight-place finishes. There was a runners-up spot in the 2021 League Cup final too, with St Johnstone edging a 1-0 win for part one of their trophy double.

It is debatable whether a move to the Perth club, who are bottom of the league and still without a win, would represent a worthwhile step up for Martindale, who may feel bigger offers could come his way.

His bond with Livingston can't be underestimated either. He has been there since 2014, first as coach then filling various roles as he gained more experience and sharpened his skills at a club who took a chance on him as he rebuilt his life after a spell in prison.

There is certainly "logic" in St Johnstone's move for the 49-year-old, as BBC Scotland pundit Michael Stewart attests, but it seems they may now have to look elsewhere.

"They're in a bit of trouble and are looking at Martindale who has been working for a number of years at Livingston on a limited budget not a million miles off what St Johnstone are spending," said Stewart.

“But that’s not to say Martindale is the only person who could do a good job at St Johnstone. There’s a number of guys out there who could get them back into the hunt of staying in the division."

• Since losing their first four top-flight meetings with Livingston (all in 2001-02), Hearts have lost just two of their last 23 against them (W11 D10).

• Livingston are winless in 12 top-flight away games at Hearts (D6 L6) since a 3-2 victory in May 2002.

• Hearts have three wins from 10 matches this season (D2 L5), their lowest amount of victories at this stage of a Scottish Premiership campaign since 2019-20 (1 win).

• There have been four red cards shown in Livingston’s last five Premiership matches (3 for opposition, 1 for Livingston).

• Livingston’s Luiyi de Lucas tops the Premiership for most interceptions this season with 22 and only Aberdeen's Slobodan Rubezic (85) and Hibs' Lewis Miller (79) have won more duels than him (78).

Despite St Johnstone's best efforts, Livingston still have David Martindale in charge for tonight's game against Hearts.

Having lost two in a row, Livi are desperate for a return to winning ways. Choose your men for the job here.

Livingston CEO Dave Black accepts that manager David Martindale will have ambitions to move on eventually, but says the club don't want to lose him to a direct Scottish Premiership rival.

The West Lothian side say they have knocked back an official approach from St Johnstone for permission to speak to Martindale about their managerial vacancy.

In a statement confirming the rejection, Black said Martindale remains fully focused on Wednesday's league game with Hearts.

"While I’ve no doubt that David has ambitions to move on and further his career in management eventually, we weren’t particularly keen to see that next move be to a league rival who we’re currently directly competing against," said Black.

"Such is the character of the man, David’s first response was solely on ensuring that full focus remained on tomorrow’s game at Tynecastle and that everyone at the club didn’t lose sight of that.

"His own mantra has always been that everything at Livingston must be about the we and not the me, and that very much remained the same following these discussions."

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Hearts welcome back Alex Lowry after he was ineligible to face parent club Rangers on Sunday.

Odel Offiah and Toby Sibbick are both expected to be fit despite going off injured in the defeat at Ibrox. Craig Gordon (leg) and Craig Halkett (knee) are back in training after lengthy absences but still unavailable for selection, while Kyosuke Tagawa (hamstring), Nathaniel Atkinson (ankle) and Barrie McKay (knee) are out.

Livingston miss Cristiano Montano through suspension after his red card against Dundee on Saturday.

Ayo Obileye is back in contention after injury, while Michael Nottingham also has a chance of being involved in the squad following his early-season struggles with tendinitis.

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Livingston defender Michael Nottingham is desperate to string together a run of games after an injury-hit start to the season.

Nottingham signed from Accrington Stanley in the summer, but has made just two appearances after struggling with tendonitis.

“It’s been very frustrating because I came up here to play games, but with that setback it’s been physically draining,” he said.

“Mentally it’s been about trying to keep myself in the zone and take it day by day. I had my injury last season that kept me out for the majority of the season so I know exactly what I have to go through (to get fit again), but it’s obviously not what you want.

“The gaffer signed me to be a big part of the team this year and I wouldn’t say I feel like I’ve let him down because you can’t help injuries at times, but I feel like I haven’t given back yet so I really want to make sure I’m able to do that as soon as possible.

“The club have been amazing with me. The staff and the boys have been really understanding and supportive. It’s been amazing.”

Nottingham has not played since coming on as a substitute against Rangers in August, but has trained this week and could feature against Hearts on Wednesday.

“I’ve always been a player in the past who has been quite robust and able to train regularly and play in the majority of games, but since my big injury last year, that’s kind of been taken away from me,” he said. “I don’t think my body’s been conditioned well enough.

“For me, right now, it’s about getting back training regularly, trying to manage my body and be available for selection as much as possible.

“When I get my opportunity I need to bring my experience to the team and help them try to win games. I need to try to get my fitness levels up as quickly as possible.”

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Stuart Barrie, Livingston fan

Perspective is the takeaway from the weekend defeat to Dundee. It's a game we shouldn’t have lost but this is only our fourth defeat of the season – the same as Aberdeen, and it's only two in a row.

This is hardly unfamiliar territory for a team like Livingston, hardly a crisis, hardly a reason for the strong reactions from some sections of the support. We weren’t at our best and both teams nullified each other in a game that was fitting for our traditional last-on-Sportscene slot.

The game did turn on the daft red card for the returning Cristian Montano and we then gave away a couple of sloppy goals from set-pieces.

We’re clearly missing the commanding presence of Ayo Obileye at the back but should have enough there not to concede these types of chances.

It was very poor, lots of fans thought so too and there was a bitterness directed at the team and manager I have not seen in a long time. I think some fans have misjudged their ire and I’m not sure what they expect from a wee club like Livi. Venting doesn’t help the team, it just creates negativity upon negativity.

David Martindale’s insightful, honest and forthright interview gave a good explanation of the tactics he was opting for. It does seem odd when Bruce Anderson was taken off but it made sense why when the manager explained the rationale.

As Martindale says, we’re a wee club and every shout is heard. I heard a few daft shouts myself from fans seething at the team. It doesn’t help anyone if fans are tearing into players. There’s not many jobs where such aggressive criticism is normalised.

I admire Martindale offering to talk to fans about what’s happening at the club. In fact, I would encourage him to do just this.

I think a low-key informal chat with fans would help both sides understand each other’s perspective and we can all come together to back the team.

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David Martindale says “it is nice” to have his name linked with other jobs, but the Livingston boss refused to be drawn on reports suggesting he is a frontrunner for the St Johnstone vacancy.

The Perth side “parted company” with Steven MacLean on Sunday and the McDiarmid Park board are rumoured to be keen on Martindale.

“I’m not wanting to sit here and talk about St Johnstone, if I’m honest,” the Livingston manager said.

“I’ve got a game on Wednesday coming off the back of two poor results, so my focus is on Hearts at Tynecastle.”

On MacLean’s exit, Martindale said he was “disappointed” and “sad” to see the news of his St Johnstone departure.

“It’s horrible because it’s just become part of football,” he added. “There’s an acceptance that managers are losing their jobs after three to six months, 10 months, 12 months.

“It’s just the evolution of football. It’s not great. I think continuity builds success, but I don’t know what’s happening at other clubs.”

St Johnstone CEO Stan Harris could explore a move for Livingston manager David Martindale after sacking Steven MacLean. (Scottish Sun)

Former Heart of Midlothian manager Robbie Neilson and ex-Inverness boss Billy Dodds are set to be discussed by the Saints board in addition to Martindale. (Daily Record)

Read the rest of Monday's gossip.

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Were you at Livingston's 2-0 home defeat to Dundee or following from elsewhere?

Either way, we want your views on the match here.

Livingston manager David Martindale: "Probably got what they deserved.

"The sending off is a red card all day long if I’m honest. Really, really disappointed and I’ll deal with that internally.

"Then the game gets hard with 10 men, but we get done with two set-plays and I'm not putting that down to 10 men. Maybe how the ball got into the final third to concede the set-play but we’ve got to defend the set-plays better.

"We need to get some centre halves as quick as possible as, I don’t think there’s any getting away from it and I’ve got to take responsibility, we’re not defending out 18-yard box as well as we were at the start of the season.

"A couple of one-v-ones in it which are really poor from my point of view.

"To be sitting here with a centre half scoring two goals against you are home is really disappointing."

Kenny Crawford, BBC Sport Scotland at Tony Macaroni Arena

Not a huge amount of positives for Livingston to take from this match.

Christian Montano was one of their bright sparks before his dismissal. The Colombian had brought some rare joy with a good run and rising shot.

Davie Martindale will be eager to take something from Tynecastle on Wednesday after two defeats on the trot.

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Daniel Mackay was an effective attacking outlet for his side on an afternoon where they failed to rarely venture forward with real intent.

David Martindale makes two changes to the side that fell to a 3-1 defeat last time out against Killie.

Scott Pittman and Mo Sangare both drop to the bench with the latter recovering from a knock in time to be passed fit to feature in the matchday squad.

Cristian Montano and Steven Bradley both come into the starting line-up with defensive regular Ayo Obilieye still not fit enough to be included this afternoon.