David Martindale has his say on new Livingston owners and reveals sleepless nights

David Martindale admits Livingston's financial situation has kept him awake at night.

Livingston manager David Martindale believes the club’s new owner will be a “huge positive” – even though he knows very little about him.

The cinch Premiership club announced on Sunday night that Baycup Ltd and sole director John McIlvogue had acquired a majority shareholding. Earlier this year, McIlvogue led a consortium that saved well-known Glasgow bakery firm Mortons Rolls from the brink of collapse and rescued more than 100 jobs. His other business interests include food and carpet firms. McIlvogue has negotiated the Livingston deal with chairman John Ward and is set to meet Martindale and the rest of the staff on Tuesday.

The Livi manager said: “I don’t really know anymore than you guys but what I will say is there’s a new owner and it’s got to be a positive for the football club, because where we have been for the past three or four years has not been great. I am going to be really honest, it’s been really, really difficult for the staff in the club. So to have fresh impetus, a fresh skill-set coming into the building and hopefully upstairs aligned with downstairs and a wee bit of help upstairs for everybody in the club, that’s a huge, huge positive for the club. I have not even met these new owners or the new owner, whatever it is. I don’t even know him, but I just know it needed done and hopefully this is the step in the right direction.”