Livingston boss David Martindale blasts Rangers player nickname abuse and says he's done nothing wrong

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Livingston boss David Martindale admits he's bemused by the criticism he's received for his post-match comments last week where he used nicknames to refer to two Rangers players.The Lions gaffer called James Tavernier and Scott Arfield 'Tav' and 'Scotty' following his side's 2-1 loss last weekend which attracted ire from some, forcing him to insist it clearly has no bearing on how he prepared his team for the game.But the boss is adamant he's done nothing wrong and says Scottish football is such a small community that every game features players or coaches well known to each other.Martindale said: "We play each other that much and everybody knows each other that well that there’s always some kind of relationship when you go to a team.“Scotty Arfield is from Livingston and we have mutual friends.

He’s got a really good relationship with wee Cheb (Livi kitman Stephen Sproule) - the two of them were at Falkirk together.“Ever since we’ve been back in the Premiership, Mr Arfield has come and visited us after games.

He’s come through to the changing room to see Cheb and sat and spoke with us and always made an effort.“As much as I wouldn’t say he’s my pal, there’s a relationship there.“So I don’t know what you call someone.

Is it Mr Tavernier or Mr Arfield? Is it Mr Jota when we play Celtic? When Scott Brown was playing at Celtic I would be calling him Broony.“That’s how I perceive these players.