Livingston boss David Martindale targets Premiership return as he's handed new deal

dailyrecord.co.uk:

David Martindale is staying on as Livingston manager for next season after being backed by the Lions board to guide them back to the Premiership.And he says he is looking forward to ‘trying to win games again’ after the side were relegated to the Championship.Martindale has signed a one-year deal to remain as boss after a club statement on Monday confirmed he will remain in post.

And the 49-year-old told the West Lothian Courier: “I’m really looking forward to next season now, going in, playing some different teams, but going into games with a slightly different mind-set. “We’ll be waking up on a Saturday morning, thinking we’ve got a chance of winning that game.

That was the case in the Premiership, but the probabilities of that happening were less.“As opposed to trying to pick points up, finding ways to win games in the Premiership, we’re now going out, focusing on how to win games.“I want to try and be the manager that tries to take the club back to the Premiership.“It takes on new dynamics this year.

The budget cuts over the last couple of years have made it extremely difficult to be competitive in the Premiership.“We’re going into the Scottish Championship, we’ll have in and around a top-four budget, so it kind of changes how I see the game.“I think we’re building a really competitive squad and I’m looking forward to trying to win games again.“There’s probably 100 per cent of that league that are going into that season, trying to get promoted, so it’s going to be a really competitive league.”An ownership wrangle at Livingston is likely to rear its head, with the club announcing that Baycup had bought a controlling interest, only for it to be contested by previous directors who claim they are the rightful owners.Mart