David Martindale would rather quit than have Livingston 'survive' in the Premiership
Livingston boss David Martindale says he would rather quit the club than take them up to the Premiership just to 'survive'.
The Lions sealed an immediate return to the top flight as they beat Ross County 4-2 in Dingwall in the play-off final on Monday, winning 5-3 on aggregate.
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In doing so, they became the first club to win a Premiership play-off twice, and the first Livingston team to seal a promotion and cup double in a single season.
Martindale says there's an exciting summer ahead for the West Lothian club, especially with the backing of new owner Calvin Ford.
He said: 'Not last year but the season before [2022-23], the season kind of petered out and it was a struggle. It was a difficult season, but we stayed in the Premiership, and I was actually thinking about my own future.
'Do I want to keep being at the club, when we were constantly fighting? You're pushing water up a hill week after week, and putting fires out, and I felt I couldn't leave the club at that point, because we were in the midst of court cases and I didn't want to walk out the club when it needed people to fight for it.
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'I stayed on, then we got relegated, and I felt how hard it was in the previous two seasons, and if I felt we were going back to the Premiership and we were going to be putting fires out and pushing water up a hill, I genuinely would call it a day and probably look elsewhere. I would leave with my head held high, in taking Livingston back to the Premiership.
Livingston earned their place back in the Premiership after beating Ross County in the play-off -Credit:SNS Group
'I think we've got a genuine opportunity to go and compete. I'm not talking about competing for the top four, I'm saying survival can't be our goal.
READ MORE: Livingston boss David Martindale had no doubt his side would win Premiership play-off
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'That can't be what we're aiming to do, every season in the Premiership. I know, realistically, putting it into perspective, it probably is, but it's not where I want to be and it's not what I want to do.'
Martindale added: 'As a club we now have good owners behind us, there's a good skill-set in the building, and I'm hoping it's going to give us a wee bit of a better platform, so we're not approaching playing in the Premiership, and looking on it as survival – we want to compete.
'For me it's not just about survival, there has to be more, and I feel that Calvin can help push the club in the right direction.
Robbie Muirhead's wonder-strike put Livingston 3-2 ahead in Dingwall and on their way to the Premiership -Credit:SNS Group
'Financial backing is massive for a club. If I was going into that game – me, (CEO) Dave Black and (ex-chairman) John Ward, with no new ownership model behind us, the pressure would have been unbelievable, because we really probably needed Premiership football to keep people at the club, to keep the club afloat.
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'Calvin sent me a message before the game and said 'we all want to be in the Premiership and playing at the top level, but if it doesn't happen this year, let's make sure it happens next year' and that alleviated a lot of pressure on me.
'It allowed me, for probably the first time in many a season, to go into a game focused on being the football manager, and not looking at aspects of the business that it would have an impact on.
Livingston bounced straight back to the top-flight after a season in the Championship -Credit:SNS Group
'I just feel that it's the first time this club is in a good place on and off the park, so there's a real support network there with Calvin.
'I think we're going to reap the benefits from having an owner with his kind of skill-set behind us, I think it's going to be absolutely pivotal for the club.'
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