Marvin Bartley Faces Former Club Livingston in Championship Clash
Marvin Bartley has not spoken to David Martindale since the day he walked out of Livingston. Not a call. Not a text. Nothing.
On Friday night, under the BBC Scotland cameras, the silence meets the spotlight as Bartley’s Stenhousemuir face Martindale’s Livingston in the Scottish Championship for the first time.
A clean break, a sharp return
Back in May, Bartley and assistant Neil Hastings said they "had no option but to resign" after being told to reapply for their jobs. It was a brutal end to a short spell in charge.
The former Hibernian, Livingston and Bournemouth midfielder had stepped up from the backroom team in January when Martindale moved upstairs into a new role. By the end of the season, Bartley was out the door.
"No, I've not seen or spoken to Davie since leaving the football club," he says. "Obviously, he's got a busy time over the summer in terms of bringing in players. He's busy, I'm busy so I've not spoken to Davie since leaving the football club."
The split hurt. He does not hide that. But he has moved on.
From shock to steel
Bartley admits those first few days after the decision left a mark.
"At the time, I was definitely hurt in the days that followed - but if you're asking me now, my full focus is on Stenhousemuir," he says.
"When the situation happened, I was really, really shocked.
"But the more people I spoke to people about it - and the more people that found out about it who weren't shocked - probably made me realise that I was maybe a little bit naive and green.
"That's probably just me as a person. I take everything at face value.
"Right now, I have got no kind of feeling to it. It's just another chapter in my book and I'm just continuing to try to do the best I possibly can for Stenhousemuir."
The bitterness has drained away. What remains is a manager who feels wiser and, crucially for Stenhousemuir, utterly locked in on the job in front of him.
A part-time club, a full-on start
If Livingston thought they had left Bartley behind, the League Cup quickly reminded them otherwise. Stenhousemuir edged past Livi on penalties at Ochilview in the group stage. After that tie, Bartley didn’t hear from Martindale, but he did from Livingston chairman Calvin Ford, who sent him a "lovely message" wishing him well.
It has not stopped there. Stenhousemuir are unbeaten in nine games in all competitions this season. For a part-time side tipped to struggle, they have ripped up the script.
They sit above their Championship rivals after three wins and a draw, the latest a 3-1 victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle last weekend. They are not just surviving. They are dictating.
Bartley arrived after Gary Naysmith, the man who delivered promotion from League 1, left for Ayr United. It could easily have been a destabilising moment. Instead, Stenny have rolled through a strong League Cup group and knocked out Premiership side Motherwell. Hearts now await in a home quarter-final next Friday.
Before that, it’s Livingston. The club he left. The club he hasn’t spoken to since. The club now led on the touchline by Glenn Whelan, with Martindale still pulling the strings as sporting director. Livi have started the league campaign with two wins and two defeats. Unsteady. Vulnerable.
Daring to dream, refusing to drift
The Championship has seen this kind of story before. Arbroath, part-time and fearless, taking Kilmarnock all the way in a title race five years ago under Dick Campbell. That run still hangs over the division as a reminder of what can happen when belief meets organisation.
Do Stenhousemuir dare to follow that path? Double promotion. Top-flight football. The stuff of fantasy for a club of their size.
Bartley knows exactly what people are thinking, and he shuts it down before it runs away.
"Every club in the pyramid now dreams of one day being in the top flight," he says.
"There's still so long to go and it's a boring answer for you all, but when I came into the job we spoke about what we hope to achieve and that's not changed.
"We've got that target and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out what that target is because everyone had us as favourites to go down in this league and we understand we are only four games into it.
"We can't get carried away with thinking about promotion or play-offs or anything like that because this league is unforgiving.
"We're thinking about achieving our goals and if we do that, that's a minor miracle in itself when you look at the financial constraints we have compared to every other club in this league."
The fairytale talk can wait. For now, Bartley has something more immediate, more personal.
No phone calls. No clear-the-air chat. Just a camera, a touchline, and a chance to show Livingston what they let walk away.
