Bemused David Martindale is adamant there's no split loyalties when his Livingston team face Rangers - and insists he's "choking" to take points off the Ibrox side.
The Livi boss took stick for his Sky Sports interview on Saturday after Giovanni van Bronckhorst's men came from behind to win at the Tony Macaroni Arena. Some rivals fans took issue with Martindale's comments as he lauded goals from Scott Arfield and James Tavernier.
The 48-year-old, who has admitted to supporting Rangers growing up, referred to Arfield as "wee Scotty" and insisted "Tav does what Tav does" after the Ibrox skipper whipped in a free-kick winner - although he also claimed the former should be banned from Livingston for again scoring versus his hometown club. But Martindale, in an interview with Rangers fan podcast Battle Fever set to be released this week, has rubbished the notion his teams try harder against Celtic than Rangers, pointing out that it'd be a hard sell to the six Hoops diehards in his Livi changing room.
He confessed his team's form against Rangers in recent encounters has been frustrating him and that he'd he love nothing more than to get one over on the blue half of Glasgow. Martindale said: "(On Tavernier's goal) If anybody disagrees with what I'm saying, they're deluded. They're deluded.
"Rangers beat us last year and we took points off Celtic. Do you seriously think I can go into my changing room and say: 'Don't try today lads, I was a Rangers supporter when I was younger'?
"I've got six Celtic fans in there! Do you know what I mean? It doesn't happen. I want to beat Rangers as much as I want to beat Celtic. Saturday, how anybody can... 'Oh, his demeanour after the game...'
"My pals all send me the stuff. I don't want to see it, but it is quite funny sometimes. I don't go on Twitter looking for it but it gets sent to me and I'm like 'how tight was the game on Saturday?'.
"You still get Celtic fans saying 'he tries harder against Celtic'. Genuinely, and this is me being honest, probably too honest - I'm choking to take points off Rangers.
"It was one of my bugbears since we beat Rangers (at home) 1-0 and had a draw, I don't think we've done well against them, I don't think we have.
"And it's not from the fact I go into the changing room and tell the boys not to try as hard today because it's Rangers! I go out there every game no matter who it is, Rangers or Celtic, we want three points.
"We try our best to take points."
