The churn rate of managers in Scottish football is now so great that most vacancies offer roughly the same level of job security as a lamplighter.
A scan of the names to have taken charge at some of the country’s leading clubs in recent times illustrates just how precarious this existence has become.
Russell Martin is Rangers’ sixth manager in seven years. Hibs and Dundee have gone through seven men in that time. Jimmy Thelin is Aberdeen’s fifth boss since Derek McInnes left Pittodrie in 2021.
Not all of those who have been chewed up and spat out lacked the necessary credentials to make a go of it. But in an increasingly impatient world, you need to have something serious about you to live to tell the tale.
As they prepare to tackle the respective halves of the Old Firm this weekend, David Martindale and Stephen Robinson unquestionably fall into that category.
While the tenures of the Livingston manager — four years and eight months — and his St Mirren counterpart — three years and six months — wouldn’t see any gold watches awarded for long service in any other walks of life, in the cut-throat environment in which they both operate, they’re both survivors.
David Martindale will clock up five years in the Livingston hotseat before the year is out
Stephen Robinson has enjoyed three extremely satisfying seasons in charge at St Mirren
Livi’s play-off final success over Ross County saw them bounce back at the first time of asking
And with freshly signed contracts keeping them in West Lothian and Paisley until 2027 and 2028 respectively, the top-flight’s longest serving pair don’t look like they’ll be going anywhere soon.
Martindale’s life story is no less extraordinary for the fact that it’s been often told.
For the few who remain unfamiliar with it, the former junior player fell into organised crime in his late 20s when a pub he owned went on fire without insurance.
He was arrested in 2004 following an undercover police operation and charged with the large-scale supply of cocaine as well as money-laundering.
Jailed for six-and-a-half years in 2006, he was released after serving four years and completed a degree in construction project management which he started while awaiting trial.
In 2014, he began to combine a day job in the building industry with volunteering as a part-time coach with Livingston.
Martindale’s past includes time spent in jail for drug dealing and money laundering
Having gradually built up a trust with players and directors, he became the club’s assistant manager and eventually succeeded Gary Holt in the post in November 2020. Soon after, the SFA’s Professional Game Board rubber-stamped his application to be considered a suitable person for football management.
It was quite the story at the time, more so for the fact that Martindale made no attempt to dress up what he’d done. He detailed everything and offered no excuses.
While his criminal past inevitably remains a point of reference and probably always will, it’s noticeable that it’s now faded into the background. People now primarily talk of his talent as a football manager, not the dark path his life once took.
Even those who find forgiveness hard to come by would begrudgingly admit that he’s made the most of the opportunity football has given him.
Livingston were sitting in 10th place when Holt quit in November 2020. By the end of that season, Martindale had taken them to sixth and to the League Cup final.
They were seventh the next season then eighth. With the manager outperforming the smallest budget in the league, there were sniffs of interest from down south. And, having been loyal to the cause in the good times, the club’s hierarchy reciprocated when they bubbled under in 2023-24. They were rewarded with an immediate return to the Premiership via the play-offs in May.
The Livingston manager lets out a roar of joy after promotion was secured in Dingwall
Having to continually shop in untapped markets, Martindale has probably lost count of the number of teams he’s built.
What’s most impressive about this latest version is that they are miles removed from the hit-and-rush football which brought Livingston up back in 2018. On an improved artificial surface, they strive to play an attractive brand.
While every manager should always be the most important person at any club, Martindale’s value to Livingston is probably hard to understate.
It was he who modernised the club by embracing sport scientists, cryochambers for recovery and video technology for training. He drives absolutely everything.
St Mirren are also enjoying the benefit of having a manager who feels like a hand-in-glove fit.
Unlike Martindale, Robinson had a decent career as a player at the top level to use as a springboard to management.
Robinson wasn’t universally popular on his appointment but has firmly won Saints fans over
The man from Lisburn made a couple of appearances for Spurs as a youngster, but it was at Bournemouth and Luton where he made a name for himself as a tricky winger.
Initially brought to Motherwell as Ian Baraclough’s assistant, he left for a short spell in charge at Oldham before returning to Fir Park as Mark McGhee’s assistant in 2017.
Less than two weeks later, McGhee left. And, following a promising spell as interim, he got the gig.
His first season saw him become the first Motherwell manager since 1950-51 to guide them to two cup finals in the one season. Even though it went south towards the end, St Mirren liked what they saw in him. And when Jim Goodwin departed for Aberdeen in February 2022, they moved heaven and earth to take him from Morecambe.
It did not begin well. Trying to impose his style on another manager’s players, he lost eight out his first nine matches. Only the fact that the side were in the no man’s land between the top of the bottom six and the foot of the table prevented it from developing into a full-blown crisis.
Having finished ninth, the club trusted Robinson to reshape the side in the manner of his choosing.
St Mirren celebrate securing their top-six status last season for the third consecutive year
In came players of the ilk of Mark O’Hara, Jonah Ayunga and Toyosi Olusanya. Alex Gogic arrived from Hibs, his underappreciated defensive nous key to the way Robinson wanted the team to play.
There had been some sniggering at the back of the class when Saints legend Tony Fitzpatrick had claimed that his former club could break into the top six. Not so much when they achieved that in Robinson’s first full season.
Having climbed one peak, they scaled another. A fifth-place finish brought European football back to Paisley for the first time since 1987-88.
While they fell just short of replicating that feat last season, a third successive top-half finish set a new standard.
Robinson, naturally, has not been short of admirers from near and far yet he also appreciates what he has in the here and now. He’s worked hard to create stability at the club and relishes the challenge of ensuring it continues to punch above its weight.
As Martindale would no doubt agree, there’s something highly satisfying about seeing the fruits of your labours.
It’s one thing being a survivor. Those who also manage to prosper are mighty few.
