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Marvin Bartley has held various roles at Livingston New Livingston manager Marvin Bartley only found out on Sunday morning when he arrived for training that predecessor David Martindale was stepping down. The club announced on Sunday afternoon that long-serving Martindale would be moving into a sporting director role, the day after a 2-0 home defeat by Motherwell left Livi six points adrift at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership. Bartley has been promoted from first team coach and takes charge for the first time at home to Falkirk on Wednesday, Livingston's 25th of 38 league games. And Bartley had no hesitation in accepting the job during a conversation with Martindale. "Things happened very, very quickly, extremely quickly, " said Bartley. "I spoke to Davie. He made it clear in terms of what was next for him and what the club wanted to be next for me. "And then it was one of those situations. Is it something that you want to take on? Or is it something you prefer not to? I'm sitting here now as manager, so you can imagine what my answer was. "I didn't expect it to happen. Probably the best thing about it, I didn't have any time to think. It's a privilege first and foremost, obviously. A club that I captained and then assistant manager before going away, and then coming back as first team coach. "The buck now stops with me. I understand that and ultimately I have to prepare the players for each and every game. " What does Martindale's move upstairs mean for Livingston? Martindale moves upstairs as Bartley becomes Livingston boss Visit our Livingston page for all the latest news, analysis and fan views Bartley was in charge of Queen of the South for 16 months but left in May 2024 after the Dumfries side finished seventh in Scottish League 1. He returned to West Lothian as a coach earlier this season. "Sometimes a fresh voice, a fresh approach can kind of change things, " Bartley said. "And that's what I'm hoping for, that we need to do. And we understand that we need to pick our results up very, very quickly. "I had a conversation with him, as I was all the time, being one of his coaches. But, yeah, in terms of going forward, I think if Davie knew the recipe to make us win three points every week, then potentially we'd still be sitting here. " Martindale remains a strong voice throughout the club but Bartley says he will have sole control over footballing matters. "I'll sort the training with the staff that are currently here, " explained the manager. "Match day, I'll pick the team, I'll pick the squad, I'll pick the substitutes that go on there. Will I lean on him? Of course I will. I'd be an idiot not to. "He's managed so many games, especially at this football club, for a long, long time. So I'll probably lean on him more than he'd probably want me. I'll lean on him a lot. I definitely will. " EFL Cup semi-final: Chelsea travel to Arsenal trailing after first leg England sweep Sri Lanka in low-scoring thriller Vonn has ruptured ACL but will compete at Olympics Watch every gripping episode of The Night Manager Graham Norton discusses being invited to Taylor Swift's wedding Four women join forces to expose a dangerous predator Olympian Keely Hodgkinson on the mindset behind her success 'Aberdeen savour the most perfect game ever played' How Mc Tominay became a Napoli icon after Man Utd exit Scotland men's internationals to be shown live on BBC Commonwealth Games: Why is it so special to be part of Team Scotland? From titles to tinpottery - rank Scotland's top 10 clubs What impact might 'unprecedented' Six Nations schedule have? Get to know the Team GB Winter Olympics squad 'Don't be afraid of being different, it's your superpower' In Pictures: Sporting photos of the week Is the Australian Open still the 'Happy Slam'? Just seven signings - the Premier League's quiet deadline day 'Strong and smart' - Liverpool's £60m man, who can 'become like Van Dijk' What's happening and when at the Winter Olympics? All the done deals on deadline day in one place Will Seahawks stop Patriots' record bid? Lowdown on Super Bowl 2026 Six Nations preview & BBC pundit predictions 'Complacent and lost control' - Man City's second-half problem 'If Arsenal don't win title now the blame will be entirely their own' Happy tennis, serious name - how history-maker Alcaraz clinched career Slam What's gone wrong for Chelsea in WSL and is Bompastor still right coach? Why 2026 could be GB's most successful Winter Olympics The most powerful woman in football - meet game's first female super agent Nine siblings and a dog called Zoomer - Wirtz in his own words Barcelona 'shakedown' offers first hints of F1 2026 The NFL's 'Queen's Gambit' who helped create $1. 5bn worth of talent Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.