David Martindale has stepped back into a coaching role at Livingston, but the sporting director has been quick to stress that his stint in the dugout is purely a stopgap measure while the club searches for a permanent head coach.
The 52-year-old will take interim charge alongside Frankie McAvoy for Friday's Championship fixture away to Greenock Morton, a match that will be broadcast live on BBC Scotland from 19:25 BST. The change in leadership follows the dismissal of Glenn Whelan, who was let go after Livingston lost three of their opening five league matches this season.
Martindale, who moved into the sporting director post in January having spent six years as the club's manager, acknowledged that stepping away from coaching had left a void, but he was adamant that a full-time return to the touchline is not part of his plans.
"I will step in as long as needed, but this isn't something I'm looking to do in the long-term," Martindale said. "I've made that kind of crystal clear. That ship's sailed. I miss coaching, but long-term, I think we need to be looking elsewhere rather than Davie Martindale."
He added that his temporary presence in charge should give the club some breathing room to identify the right long-term appointment without rushing a decision under pressure. "It probably buys us a wee bit of time to try and bring someone in so there's no immediate reaction on the back of it," he explained.
Livingston's early-season struggles come after a difficult 2024-25 campaign in the Scottish Premiership, which ended in relegation following a run of just two wins from 38 matches. The club had earned promotion back to the top flight the previous season via the play-offs, losing only six league games throughout that campaign — a stark contrast to their recent form.
Martindale explained the ownership's ambitions were clear when Whelan was dismissed, noting the ownership group wants the Championship title this season. He conceded that sitting fifth in the table after five games, having lost three of them, was not good enough, even allowing for the tough tests posed by part-time sides in the division.
"We're all well aware that the start's not been good enough," he said. "We were pretty keen to try and get it to at least match day nine, where we've all played each other and then reassess it. Fifth in the league, lost three out of five and had nothing against part-time teams who have been magnificent in the league to be fair, but I think that probably puts a wee bit of fuel on the fire as well."
Looking ahead to the recruitment process, Martindale confirmed that Livingston intend to broaden their search beyond the pool of candidates they may have previously considered. "We're going to cast the net a wee bit wider," he said, pointing to the club's existing knowledge of the domestic game as a strength while acknowledging gaps in experience abroad.
"I think we've got a real strong skill set in the building of UK football," Martindale continued. "You could probably ask me any league and I can give you a wee bit of information on it, or I can phone somebody and get information. European football is a little bit different. So we need to bring in experience and expertise in different markets from the ones that we were looking at previously."
Livingston will look to arrest their poor start to the campaign against Morton before the club continues its search for a new head coach.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport Football.