David Martindale shares how two former Celtic men played a pivotal role in Livingston appointment

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David Martindale has shared how two former Celtic men played a huge part in him getting his big break into football at Livingston.

Martindale has had a chequered past and whilst he never really had any real history in football, he was a youth player with Rangers and Motherwell. [BBC]

His well publicised off-field activity meant he had to serve a four year jail term back in 2006 and it was during that time he decided to turn his life around.

Upon his release he got involved back in the game and took a coaching role at Broxburn United before he became the assistant manager of the junior club.

But it was Livingston who offered Martindale his big break after he completed his UEFA B Licence via the Irish FA and it was two former Celtic men that helped him set him up. [The Guardian]

Mark Burchill ‘vouched’ for Martindale

Speaking prior to yesterday’s defeat to Celtic, Martindale candidly opened up on how he got his breakthrough at Livingston and credited former Celtic striker Mark Burchill and former Hoops scout, John McGlynn, who was the Livingston manager at the time for setting him up.

Martindale said [Sky Sports], “I just remember coming in and one of the boys working at the club arranged a meeting with John McGlynn for me.

“And Mark Burchill who is a Livingston boy vouched for me and I had a wee meeting with John and I said, ‘Look, I would like to come in on Tuesday morning and a Thursday morning and see how you guys go and I’ll come and try and help the club and John was very receptive to it.”

Martindale was appointed as the assistant manager to David Hopkin in 2016 before he eventually took over the hotseat in 2020.

There is no doubt that Martindale is one of the game’s most colourful characters. Since becoming the manager at Livingston in 2020, the 49-year-old gaffer has taken the Almondvale club to a League Cup Final in 2021 which he subsequently lost to St Johnstone 1-0.

Against Celtic though, Martindale enjoyed a relative successful time early in his career with three draws and a win in his first four encounters.

However, since that final 0-0 draw in October 2021, Martindale has lost seven times in the league to Celtic and now faces relegation this season. [Transfermarkt]

Whatever people think of his past, Martindale deserves an enormous amount of credit to turn his life around to become the manager of a top-flight Scottish club.