Livingston boss David Martindale backs Ross County counterpart Malky Mackay to turn season around

Livingston boss admits he's surprised Ross County counterpart Malky Mackay is still at the club - because he thought he'd have moved to a bigger club by now.

The 50-year-old brings the Staggies to West Lothian on the back of a disappointing 5-0 home reversal against Motherwell in midweek. They've picked up just one win in their opening nine games but endured a challenging start last season before eventually claiming a top-six berth and Martindale has no doubts the Highland outfit will turn things around.

He just wants to make sure it doesn't begin on Saturday at the Tony Macaroni Arena.

But he insists Mackay's men will be even more difficult to face after that result, especially having been on the receiving end of Dundee United's reaction following their 9-0 humiliation at the hands of Celtic. The Arabs knocked Livi out of the League Cup in their next fixture after that Hoops loss.

Martindale commented: "I think Tuesday night's result makes them more dangerous. The mindset of the players and Malky in how they approach the game maybe changes. We had it with the Dundee United game.

"Any team who comes off a bad result - the next game becomes that wee bit more difficult. You want to be the team that inflicts that scoreline, not the one playing them after it. One result can change everything and we need to make sure it's not our result that changes their momentum."

He added: "I've no doubt it in my mind that Malky will get it right. He's a top, top manager and I'm surprised, in the nicest possible way, that he's remained at Ross County. I think all he needed was the opportunity to put his past behind him and Ross County gave him that. I was surprised there wasn't bigger clubs coming in for him.

"He's managed at the highest