Marvin Bartley vs David Martindale: A Scottish Championship Rivalry

Marvin Bartley has not spoken to David Martindale since the day he walked out of Livingston. On Friday night, the two men meet again – not in an office at Almondvale, but on opposite sides of the technical area in the Scottish Championship, live on BBC Scotland.

It is their first clash since a messy separation in May, when Bartley and assistant Neil Hastings resigned after being told they had to reapply for their own jobs. For a man who had stepped up from the backroom staff in January, after Martindale moved upstairs into a sporting director role, it cut deep.

“No, I've not seen or spoken to Davie since leaving the football club,” Bartley says. No softening of the edges. Just the blunt reality.

“Obviously, he's got a busy time over the summer in terms of bringing in players. He's busy, I'm busy so I've not spoken to Davie since leaving the football club.”

The silence with Martindale contrasts with the contact from the boardroom. Livingston chairman Calvin Ford reached out after Bartley’s new club, Stenhousemuir, knocked Livi out of the League Cup on penalties at Ochilview. Ford’s “lovely message” wished him well. It mattered.

The manner of his exit, though, did not fade quickly.

“At the time, I was definitely hurt in the days that followed – but if you're asking me now, my full focus is on Stenhousemuir,” Bartley says.

“When the situation happened, I was really, really shocked.

“But the more people I spoke to about it – and the more people that found out about it who weren't shocked – probably made me realise that I was maybe a little bit naive and green.

“That's probably just me as a person. I take everything at face value.

“Right now, I have got no kind of feeling to it. It's just another chapter in my book and I'm just continuing to try to do the best I possibly can for Stenhousemuir.”

From hurt to a hot streak

If that chapter at Livingston closed with frustration, the new one at Ochilview is being written at speed.

Stenhousemuir, part-time and written off by many before a ball was kicked, have not lost in nine matches in all competitions. They sit looking down on the Championship after three wins and a draw, the latest a sharp 3-1 victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle last weekend.

Bartley inherited a club on the up. Gary Naysmith had just delivered promotion from League 1 before leaving for Ayr United, and Bartley walked into the vacancy with a clear brief and limited resources. He has not wasted time.

Stenny have come through a strong League Cup group campaign and then claimed a statement win over Premiership side Motherwell. Hearts await in a home quarter-final next Friday – another night that could stretch the club’s imagination.

Before that, there is the return of Livingston. This time it is Glenn Whelan in the away dugout, his side having taken two wins and two defeats from their opening league fixtures. Their form is mixed. Stenhousemuir’s is not.

The contrast only sharpens the intrigue.

Daring to dream – carefully

The Championship has seen this film before. Arbroath, another part-time outfit, went toe-to-toe with Kilmarnock for the title five years ago under Dick Campbell, dragging the division into one of its most compelling races in recent memory.

So the question hangs over Ochilview now. Do the Warriors dare to believe in something as wild as back-to-back promotions and a crack at the top flight?

“Every club in the pyramid now dreams of one day being in the top flight,” Bartley says.

He knows the narrative that is forming around his team. He also knows the table shows only four league games played.

“There's still so long to go and it's a boring answer for you all, but when I came into the job we spoke about what we hope to achieve and that's not changed.

“We've got that target and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out what that target is because everyone had us as favourites to go down in this league and we understand we are only four games into it.

“We can't get carried away with thinking about promotion or play-offs or anything like that because this league is unforgiving.

“We're thinking about achieving our goals and if we do that, that's a minor miracle in itself when you look at the financial constraints we have compared to every other club in this league.”

On Friday night, the story narrows to 90 minutes: Bartley’s unbeaten upstarts against the club that let him go, under the glare of the cameras and with the Championship already twitching with possibility.

The phone lines between Bartley and Martindale might be dead. The rivalry, on this evidence, is anything but.