Livingston boss David Martindale has hailed Dundee United’s victory over AZ Alkmaar and believes everyone’s shock at the result proves Scottish football doesn’t market itself properly.
The Lions travel to Tannadice tomorrow to face a United side buoyant from a brilliant performance as they defeated the Dutch visitors 1-0 in Thursday’s Europa Conference League clash.
Martindale, who attended the game, heaped praise on United, saying: “I thought Dundee United’s big players really performed.
“Steven Fletcher led the line, Charlie Mulgrew was different class, Dylan Levitt was good on the ball and wee Sibbs (Craig Sibbald) did well.
“I probably expected a bit more more Alkmaar but let’s give United credit for nullifying their game.
“We do ourselves an injustice. On the radio they said it was a huge result. I think we are negative about Scottish football at times. United were very good in the game.
“Why did I expect more from Alkmaar, is it the marketing? I don’t know Alkmaar, so why did I expect more? It comes from our perception and the information we believe.”
He added: “We are good at talking ourselves down and we don’t market ourselves well and that game highlights that. We aren’t the best at talking up our game.
“If Livingston v Dundee United was on one channel and Manchester United against Manchester City was on another, it is like two different planets.
“The production is different, it looks so much better. It markets the game down there very well and we have to do better up here.
“I have spoken to scouts who cover England and they say some of the games in the Premier League and Championship down there are horrible to watch.
“Rangers never got a great result on Tuesday but I saw them against West Ham and Spurs and what they can do. We do ourselves an injustice at times.”
The Lions gaffer admits he needs to take advantage of the fact their opponents played on Thursday and may well also have an eye on the return leg next week.
But he insists that doesn’t mean they can turn up expecting to take points.
He said: “We need to try to take advantage of them playing on Thursday and then next Thursday.
“We have to use all the fine details you can. If I was Dundee United and I had that schedule, I wouldn’t be worried but I would think about rotating the players.
“I would have the other Alkmaar game in my head as it will probably be worth a lot of money to the club.
“It’s a balancing act and Liam Fox and Jack are capable of doing that.”
He added: “They have signed well but they will be in a better position to deal with the fixture congestion at the end of this month.
“We are getting them at a good time but does it mean we will automatically get points? No.”
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