Livingston boss David Martindale 'delighted' if St Johnstone feel they have struck psychological blow ahead of cup final

David Martindale looked on the bright side after seeing his unbeaten record as manager ruined by St Johnstone in a Betfred Cup final dress rehearsal.

Livingston manager David Martindale (L) congratulates St Johnstone counterpart Callum Davidson after seeing his side lose for the first time under his charge (Photo by Sammy Turner / SNS Group)

Livingston fell 2-1 after goals either side of half-time from Scott Tanser and Shaun Rooney. Scott Pittman gave the home side brief hope with a header with seven minutes left.

It was Martindale’s first defeat in 15 games since taking over from Gary Holt in November. Now he hopes St Johnstone have been lulled into a sense of false security ahead of the showpiece occasion at Hampden on 28 February.

Asked if the Perth side might treat the win as striking a psychological blow prior to the big game, Martindale said: “I’ll be delighted if they think that. I am confident that is not the case. Even if we had won today, I don’t think it would have given us the opportunity to go into the final as favourites. We are going into a national cup final, form goes out the window. Nerves will play a part for both teams so I am not bothered about that.”

Martindale claimed he did not feel very different to after his previous 14 matches as manager despite it being the first time he has experienced a defeat.

“You have that downer,” he said. “But again, we talk about it – you don’t get too high when you win games and you don’t get too down when you lose games of football. We just have to make sure the overhang does not eat into Wednesday night.”

Livingston now face Hamilton Accies in midweek as they try to get back on the winning trail.

Callum Davidson, meanwhile, was confident no one in his team will view this win as having any bearing on Hampden. “It’s a different day, a different pitch, a bigger pitch,” the St Johnstone manager said.

“There could be different players playing at Hampden, so it won’t have any impact. The main thing for us until the final comes around is the league and today gets us another three points.”

Davidson revealed injured midfielder Murray Davidson is “50-50” to make the final. He missed the trip to Livingston after a scan on his leg following a challenge by Kemar Roofe in the 3-0 defeat to Rangers in midweek.