Livingston say they have rejected St Johnstone approach for manager David Martindale

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Livingston say they have rejected an approach from St Johnstone to speak to manager David Martindale about the vacant position at McDiarmid Park.The Perth club is on the hunt for a new boss after Steven MacLean was relieved of his duties in the aftermath of Saturday’s 4-0 defeat to St Mirren.First team coach Liam Craig also departed, with Alex Cleland placed in interim charge for Wednesday night’s Premiership match with Kilmarnock.Reports quickly linked Martindale as a possible option for Saints and, with the bookmakers, he was placed in as the early favourite.But Livingston CEO Dave Black has provided an update “following recent speculation over the past 48 hours” about Martindale’s future.“Yesterday, the club received an official approach from St Johnstone for permission to speak to David about taking the vacant position at McDiarmid Park,” Black said.“Following discussions with John Ward, John McIlvogue and David himself, I informed St Johnstone this morning that we wouldn’t be giving permission for that conversation to take place.“David has been pivotal in both the on-field success of the club over recent years and on the off-field growth and stability of the club too - something we wish to continue under David’s leadership for a long time to come.”The statement continued: “Whilst I have no doubt that David has ambitions to move on and further his career in management eventually, we weren’t particularly keen to see that next move be to a league rival who we’re currently directly competing against.“Such is the character of the man, David’s first response was solely on ensuring that full focus remained on tomorrow’s game at Tynecastle and that everyone at the club didn’t lose sight of that.“His own mantra has always