'I've still got a half vested interest'

LIVINGSTON have a history of giving new Old Firm bosses a bloody nose on their first visit to Almondvale.

And gaffer Davie Martindale hopes that tradition continues with Russell Martin’s Rangers.

Seven years ago Steven Gerrard’s first trip to West Lothian ended in a 1-0 defeat.

Ange Postecoglou suffered a similar fate when he first brought his Hoops, with an Andrew Shinnie strike sealing a 1-0 win in 2021.

Now Martin’s toiling Light Blues arrive on Sunday in a far worse state than Gerrard’s men back in 2018.

Martindale said: “I remember that win over them seven years ago.

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Dolly Menga scored, and it was Gerrard’s first trip here.

“Ange’s first game here, we beat them 1-0 too. And Neil Lennon’s first match back with Celtic in his second spell, we won 2-0.

“Maybe teams come here and are a wee bit complacent.

“There are a lot of new players in the Rangers team who aren’t used to difficult away venues in Scotland yet.

“It’s probably easier for them to adapt to that the second time round, so we try to use everything we can to our advantage.”

Martindale also feels Livi have the fixture schedule on their side, with an eight-day break before they face Gers.

He added: “The big one for me is Rangers playing in Europe on a Thursday night.

“I don’t envy their position in terms of having to play then and again on Sunday.

“It’s a very quick turnaround for them, and it’s really difficult in terms of recovery and from a coaching point of view.

“You’re looking at this Rangers team and hoping they come here and under-perform.

“But we’ve got to be at the top of our game, and we’ve had the luxury of eight days to prepare for it.

“So we need to try to use that to our advantage as much as possible.”

Having been raised in the shadow of Ibrox, Martindale doesn’t hide the fact he grew up supporting the Light Blues.

And he reckons under-fire boss Martin needs time to bed in his ideas.

He said: “It’s no secret, I grew up in Govan and Rangers were my team so I’ve still got a half-vested interest.

“When they come here I want us to do everything we can to take points from them. First and foremost I’m a Livingston supporter.

“But when Russell got the job, I was positive about the calibre of manager that was in at Rangers.

“He’s played and managed at the highest level, but sometimes reality and expectations are a wee bit different.

‘I’ve still got a half vested interest’