David Martindale has no issue with Derek Adams’ decision to rip into the standard of the cinch Premiership, insisting his Ross County counterpart is better placed than he is to have an “educated opinion” on the matter.
However, the Livingston boss was keen to point out some of the factors he feels contribute to the perceived lack of entertainment within Scotland’s top flight.
Recently-appointed Staggies manager Adams delivered an astonishing outburst after his side’s 1-0 defeat at home to Dundee on Saturday decrying his own team as well as the overall level of entertainment being served up in Scotland.
The 48-year-old Scot, who has been working in England for the past eight years, also claimed the Morecambe side he recently left in League Two were “a hundred times better” than the County team he has inherited and who currently sit ninth in the Premiership.
“Derek’s managed down south quite a bit, he’s now managing back up in Scotland so I think he’s entitled to his own opinion,” said Martindale. “It’s more of an educated opinion than what I can give you because I’ve not done what Derek’s done so he’s probably well within his rights to say it.
“He’s maybe articulated it wrong, I don’t know, I’ve not watched it back, but he’s educated enough in terms of his CV to have an opinion on the subject.
“I had a conversation with someone else who has managed down south at that level and in Scotland and it wasn’t Derek Adams. And privately that was the information, the consensus I was kind of getting from them.
“But I go back to recruitment. What markets can you recruit from? Me personally, I’m recruiting from National League, National League North, National League South.”
Martindale has regularly spoken positively about the overall strength and competitiveness within a league in which his side are currently bottom, but he does acknowledge many of the games can become stuffy affairs.
“I think the league has become a lot more competitive outside the top two,” he said. “There’s not much between the two teams outside the Old Firm. I feel there’s more of a 3-5-2 feel to the league this year. That then lends the game to being a little more direct, long ball at times.
“Most managers are under a lot of pressure. I’ve been outspoken about the size of the league, I think that hampers teams. I think if there was less pressure on teams on the relegation front and what it does to the finances, I think you’d maybe see a different approach.
“I think the culture of hiring and firing managers lends itself to short-term results, which can make the game more risk-averse and maybe at that point the product on the park drops.
“I think a bigger league would take a bit pressure off managers down the bottom end.
“It can also get a bit mundane playing each other three or four times a season because you know each other inside out. I don’t think that helps the product but I wouldn’t go as far as to say ‘I think the product we have is not great’ because I think it’s a very competitive league.
“When we get a competitive league, it’s easy to knock the product on the park but I’m not on that boat. I think the league has become harder this year.”
