David Martindale happy with Livingston squad one month before Premiership opener

David Martindale declared himself already happy with his Livingston squad with still a month to go before the start of the cinch Premiership season.

For differing reasons the Livi boss has lost players such as Alan Forrest, Keaghan Jacobs, Craig Sibbald, Gavin Reilly, Jack McMillan, Odin Bailey and Caleb Chukwuemeka from his roster.

Belgian midfielder Scott Bitsindou, former Hearts defender Jamie Brandon, Guinea-Bissau forward Esmael Goncalves and Australian defender Phillip Cancar have been recruited by Martindale, with Congo international Dylan Bahamboula also expected to be confirmed.

The West Lothian club returned to Scotland from their training camp in Murcia, Spain, to continue preparations for their Premier Sports Cup games against Albion Rovers, Inverness, Cove Rangers and Kelty Hearts which precede the league season opener at home to Rangers on July 30, and the Livingston manager is pleased with what he has at his disposal.

He said: “I am really happy where we are as a squad.

“We have got good depth and quality this season.

“Probably looking to bring one, potentially two in but that means moving one or two on.

“It has been a difficult window, quite quiet all over.

“We done a lot of our work before we broke off.

“I had Jamie Brandon, Scott Bitsindou and Phillip Cancar sorted before the season finished and then a week after the season finished I tied up the Esmael deal so I wasn’t a million miles away from where we needed to be.

“Last year I looked at League One and the Championship in Scotland, this year I have been looking at the second tier in most leagues.

“We don’t have the finances to recruit from, for instance, the top tier in Belgium. So looking overseas a wee bit to bring a different type of player into