Martindale explains 24-hour delay for Livingston game

Livingston manager David Martindale has said the club moved their match against Ross County back by 24 hours in the hope of avoiding a postponement.

The clubs were due to meet on Saturday afternoon in their Premiership game but the fixture has been pushed back to Sunday.

After seeing their game against Aberdeen fall foul of the freezing conditions last weekend, the club decided to look at the forecast and successfully apply to the SPFL for a fixture change.

“I’m actually quite happy,” Martindale said. “We suggested it.

“It’s better playing the game 24 hours later than not playing the game and having to schedule it into the fixture list

“We’ve had contractors at the park since the Aberdeen game and every day you come in and it’s -6 or -8 overnight. You come in and you’re back to square one.

“We came in today and there was three inches of snow on the park.

“Temperatures are due to drop to -8 in Livingston on Friday night so the game would never go ahead. It’s going to rise to 5/6 degrees from Saturday morning onwards so contractors are saying we’re fairly confident for Sunday.

“I’m delighted we’re playing football this weekend put it that way. Aberdeen are playing Sunday at 3pm, we are playing 2pm on Sunday, so no one is getting any advantage out of it. It makes sense to get the game on this weekend.”

In addition to avoiding a fixture backlog, Martindale is keen to get his team on the park after a stunning run of form under his management. Livi have seven straight league wins since he took charge and he wants to continue the momentum, even though conditions make it difficult.

He said: “It’s a wee bit of momentum and another chance to pick up three points, which is imperative – but that can also go against you.

“I could keep putting games off so we keep being unbeaten.

“On Monday and Tuesday we really struggled. We couldn’t get facilities.

“We cleared areas of the park, but it wasn’t great. You got away with training on it, just, but you wouldn’t get away with playing a game of football on it.

“We managed to get into Oriam today and we’ve managed to get training facilities there for next couple of days so that going to
benefit us massively.

“The boys are in good spirits. They’re easy to manage. You put a ball down, you put them indoors, it’s a lot better than out there when it’s -4 and the park is not great.”

Sunday’s game will also see Martindale pit his wits against new County boss John Hughes and he said he will enjoy meeting the manager for the first time.

“I’ve actually never met Yogi but our kitman (Stephen Sproule), he’s best pals with him,” he said. “The two of the game grew up together and are best pals. I feel as if I know Yogi, but I’ve never met him.

“I think he’s a fantastic coach. I’ve watched Yogi’s interviews over the years, and his style of football and I’ve been quite impressed. I’m delighted he’s back in the game.

“It’s nice to see local people and Scottish managers managing in the top flight.

“I was at Hibs v Ross County game and you could see that it was still the same players but they were different.

“There’s a wee bit of belief now, a wee bit of confidence. Obviously
the result at Easter Road helps that massively.

“They’re looking to get the ball down and move the opposition.”