Livingston newcomer Gavin Reilly feels manager David Martindale’s honesty is a breath of fresh air.
Martindale has made a sensational start to life in management after leading Livi to wins in his first eight games in charge before they drew at Celtic Park on Saturday.
Reilly is hoping to make his debut against Celtic at the Tony Macaroni Arena on Wednesday but has seen enough of Martindale since joining from Carlisle two weeks ago to know what some of his major strengths are.
Reilly said: “He’s just very open and honest and says it as it is and as a player, that’s what you want to hear, whether it’s good or bad.
“You go in and have conversations with managers sometimes and come out more confused than when you first went in.
“He is very straight to the point and, because he is that open and honest, the players want to work that hard for him.
“It just shows with performances on the pitch that we are all in it together, from the dinner lady to the players in the changing room to the management staff.”
Some of Reilly’s initial discussions with Martindale led to the former Queen of the South, Hearts and St Mirren striker sitting out the games until the second half of their double header against Celtic.
“I came in last Tuesday but, because I hadn’t played a lot of football and with the team doing so well, me and the gaffer thought it was best to get a good week and a bit into my legs and hopefully be involved on Wednesday,” the 27-year-old said.
“Especially with the amount of games we have coming up and with suspensions and injuries, there is going to have to be rotation and hopefully when given that chance I can fill that number nine role.
“When I played in Scotland previously, I have shown I can score goals when I’m given a run of games.
“So hopefully I can add to that but first and foremost the team works so hard for each other, that’s the fundamentals of where Livingston are coming from.
“It’s one of the things I have always noticed and admired about Livingston, even when I played against them, they always seemed to have good energy and a lot of team spirit. And it’s no different now.
“It’s a great bunch of guys who are all fighting hard for each other and that’s one of the main reasons they are doing so well.”
