Having just finished his post-match interview with BBC Scotland following his side’s Scottish Premiership draw with Kilmarnock, Livingston manager David Martindale had chairman Calvin Ford waiting for him.
Hovering just out of sight from the interview room, the American was not eavesdropping or preparing to pull his manager in for the chat football cynics might have in mind.
Instead, Ford – the great-great-grandson of Ford Motor Company founder Henry – wanted to share his verdict on the missed opportunity against the side directly above them… and whether he could get a lift home.
The West Lothian outfit still have just one league win this season, back on 9 August, and are four points behind Kilmarnock with a game in hand.
Ford listened to Martindale tell of his “disappointment” at the two points dropped and heard him answer whether this is one of his trickiest times as Livingston manager.
“No,” Martindale told BBC Scotland matter-of-factly. “You must think I’m crazy, but honestly, it isn’t.
“The club is in such a good place. The club are so fortunate to have someone like Calvin as chairman and majority shareholder.”
With a smile on his face, Ford acknowledged the kind and unprompted words from Martindale.
Earlier this week, the chairman gave his backing to the manager and his staff, and reiterated his stance during a pre-match interview on Sportsound, stating he was “not concerned” about the possibility of relegation, despite the club’s position at the foot of the table.
“How concerned am I? I’m not concerned,” he said as he stood among supporters at the back of the main stand to conduct the interview.
“It’s halfway through the season. We brought in a couple of players that I’m really excited about.
“If you look back at many of the games that we were in, boy, how many did we lose in the last five or 10 minutes? It’s unbelievable the amount of points that I feel that we could’ve had.
“I have complete belief in this squad, in the players, in the staff. I feel great right now.”
Saturday’s game against Kilmarnock is another to be filed in that ‘oh boy’ category.
Killie, guided by Neil McCann for the first time, were – and still are – on a wretched run of their own. Fourteen games without a win, with the last coming on 4 October.
This was a real chance for the Lions to pounce on a wounded animal.
Connor McLennan’s fine finish on the stroke of half-time put the hosts in front, but they were undone – “too easily again” for Martindale’s liking – by Marcus Dackers’ second-half strike.
“I’m disappointed with the two points dropped, that’s how it feels,” the deflated Livingston manager said.
“The goal was fantastic, but I’m disappointed with the goal we lose. We’re giving cheap, cheap goals away to the opposition.
“When you’re winning, football becomes that little bit easier, so there is a wee bit of low self-esteem, low confidence, negative momentum.
“People might laugh at that but it’s actually a thing.
“We just need to get that win as soon as possible and I think the boys will kick on.”
The hope – which is far from lost – is that the on-field performances can take off in the same way off-field workings have.
John Ward, who vacated the chairmanship, said Ford would “bring a sea change to Livingston and the wider West Lothian community,” when he was announced in May last year.
The American – who said he “had the chills” – couldn’t hide his excitement at being back at Almondvale on a matchday, and revealed on the radio his 12-year-old son said it was “the best day of his life” when he was here for the Falkirk game.
Martindale – who first joined the club as a volunteer in 2014 – admits the “pressure” he previously felt at the club is no longer there, because of Ford’s involvement.
“The club is in a really, really good place so I’ve felt under a lot more pressure than I feel just now,” he said.
“I think over the years me, Dave [Black] and John [Ward] probably had the weight of the club around our necks, so every defeat felt a lot worse, people’s jobs were at stakes.
“I know the club, outwith my position, is in a really good place so that pressure’s not there.
“Internally with me, the staff, the players, 100%, but have I been in much trickier positions? I would say I have.”
Martindale admits it’s on him to reverse fortunes on the field, but he might have a tip or two from Ford on the way.
