St Johnstone have been knocked back in their attempt to speak to David Martindale about the vacant manager’s job at McDiarmid Park.
The Perth club will soon whittle down their potential candidates to replace Steven MacLean, with interviews expected to begin on Thursday.
But they had already decided that Martindale was one of the men they would be keen to talk to after the midweek match against Kilmarnock was out of the way and contacted Livingston to set the ball rolling on Monday.
The 49-year-old, who works without a contract at West Lothian, was non-committal about the prospect of making a switch to Perth on the same day when quizzed on the subject.
Statement
Livingston CEO Dave Black has now decided to made his club’s stance public by issuing a statement.
It read: “Following recent speculation over the past 48 hours regarding men’s first-team manager David Martindale, I was keen to provide supporters with an update.
“Yesterday, the club received an official approach from St Johnstone for permission to speak to David about taking the vacant position at McDiarmid Park.
“Following discussions with John Ward, John McIlvogue and David himself, I informed St Johnstone this morning that we wouldn’t be giving permission for that conversation to take place.
“David has been pivotal in both the on-field success of the club over recent years and on the off-field growth and stability of the club too – something we wish to continue under David’s leadership for a long time to come.”
Never say never in football but Martindale is highly unlikely to be the next Saints manager.
And even before Livingston’s statement, Scott Brown had moved to the top of the betting with some bookmakers.
The former Scotland and Celtic star has been out of work since he was sacked as Fleetwood boss two months ago.
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