Livingston boss David Martindale refused to be drawn on reports linking him with the managerial vacancy at St Johnstone.
The 49-year-old has emerged as one of the front-runners for the Saints job following the sacking of Steven MacLean on Sunday.
When asked about the fact his name had been mentioned in connection with the Perth club at a media briefing on Monday morning to preview Wednesday’s cinch Premiership match at Hearts, Martindale said: “It’s nice to have your name linked with other jobs, but I’m not really wanting to sit here and talk about St Johnstone Football Club, if I’m honest.
“I’ve got a game on Wednesday night coming off the back of two poor results so my focus is on Hearts at Tynecastle, not St Johnstone.”
Although reluctant to bring his own name into the discussion, Martindale did express sympathy for MacLean, who was sacked with Saints bottom of the table after failing to win any of their first nine games of the Premiership campaign and having suffered a humiliating Viaplay Cup group-stage exit in the summer.
“I’m disappointed, sad,” said the Lions boss. “It’s horrible because it’s just become part of football, there’s an acceptance that managers are losing their jobs after three to six months, 10 months, 12 months.
“It’s just the evolution of football, and it’s not great. I think continuity builds success, but I don’t know what’s happening at other clubs.
“It’s not my place to talk about other clubs, but from a personal point of view, I’ve always got on well with Stevie and (assistant) Liam Craig. It’s disappointing to see anyone within this environment lose their job.”
Martindale has the chance to crank up the pressure on another Premiership manager on Wednesday, with Hearts boss Steven Naismith coming under fire from his own supporters following an underwhelming start to his reign.
The ninth-placed Lions – who have lost their last two matches – can leapfrog the seventh-placed Jambos if they win at Tynecastle this week.
“It’s just modern-day football,” said Martindale of the recent criticism of his Hearts counterpart. “Outwith Celtic and maybe Rangers to a certain degree now (that they have a new manager), I think most fans at most clubs are all frustrated.
“It goes back to the shelf life of a manager and the frustration of fans, it happens at every club.
“I’m not sure Naisy has much more to deal with (in terms of criticism) than what we’ve got to deal with, it’s just more fans because their crowd numbers are bigger. I think it (pressure on managers) is relevant at all clubs.”
