Next Livingston Manager Odds: Five Potential Candidates To Replace Marvin Bartley
Following the shock resignation of Marvin Bartley as Livingston head coach, betting sites are now offering next Livingston manager odds.
Bartley and assistant Neil Hastings walked away on Thursday after being asked to reapply for their jobs ahead of the club's return to the Championship, with veteran midfielder Scott Arfield placed in interim charge for the final three matches of the campaign.
But the search for a permanent successor is already underway, and here at Freebets.com, we take a closer look at the leading candidates and the latest next Livingston manager odds.
Next Livingston Manager Odds
With Livingston already relegated and Bartley gone three games before the curtain falls on a brutal Premiership season, the West Lothian club are now on the hunt for a manager to lead the Championship rebuild - and here we take a look at five realistic candidates who could be next in line to take charge at Almondvale.
| Candidate | Next Livingston Manager Odds |
| Tony Docherty | 9/4 |
| John Hughes | 3/1 |
| David Martindale | 5/1 |
| Jack Ross | 8/1 |
| James McPake | 12/1 |
Odds are implied probabilities based on current transfer reporting - no current markets are available at UK betting sites.
Tony Docherty
Tony Docherty is the early market leader and the obvious place to start.
The Scot has been a free agent since leaving his Aberdeen assistant role in March, and his Premiership credentials at Dundee - where he kept the Dark Blues afloat in 2023/24 on a budget similar to Livingston's - make him a clean fit for what the club needs next.
Docherty was named SPFL Manager of the Month in March 2024, knows the Scottish recruitment market inside out, and has spent years working under Derek McInnes, which means a defensively organised, set-piece-led approach that would translate seamlessly to Almondvale's artificial pitch.
There is the small matter of his ill-fated three-month stint at Ross County, and he has been linked with the St Mirren job, but if owner Calvin Ford wants a manager he can appoint this weekend, Docherty is the one.
John Hughes
John Hughes would be a romantic return for a manager who briefly took the Livingston job back in 2012 before walking away for Hartlepool.
The 60-year-old has been out of work since leaving Dunfermline in May 2022, but his CV in the Scottish game remains one of the most extensive in the market - Falkirk, Hibs, Inverness (where he won the Scottish Cup in 2015 and was named manager of the year), Ross County and Raith Rovers.
Hughes' bombastic style fits Livingston's underdog identity to a tee, and a Championship rebuild on a tight budget would play to his strengths.
The departure first time around still leaves a faint sour taste, and three years out of management is a long time, but if Ford wants experience and energy on a shoestring, Hughes ticks both boxes.
David Martindale
David Martindale stepping back into the dugout would be the boldest call of all.
The longest-serving Livingston manager since the club's 1995 rebrand only moved upstairs into the sporting director role on 1 February, and Calvin Ford has been unequivocal about how central he is to the long-term project.
Martindale himself has spoken about the need for a clear divide between his SD job and the first-team department, but Championship football, a smaller budget and reset expectations are arguably his ideal canvas - this is the man who lifted the SPFL Trust Trophy in March 2025 and orchestrated promotion via the play-off two months later.
A return would feel like a step backwards, and optically, the club would be admitting Bartley's promotion was a mistake.
He's a serious price for a serious reason, but every Livingston market has to include him.
Jack Ross
Jack Ross is the most experienced operator on this list, and the candidate Calvin Ford might warm to if he wants a track record of winning the second tier.
Ross steered St Mirren to the Championship title in 2017/18 before stints at Sunderland, Hibernian and Dundee United, and although his last managerial job ended badly at Tannadice in 2022, he has remained in the game, currently employed as head of football strategy at Newcastle United.
His comfort working underneath a sporting director structure - he had one at Hibs - should appeal to a club where Martindale will be a permanent fixture upstairs.
The flip side is that Ross has been linked with the St Mirren vacancy himself and could naturally hold out for a Premiership return, but at 8/1 he represents the value play in the market for those willing to back a hands-on rebuild.
James McPake
James McPake is the outside name with the strongest emotional pull.
The Northern Irishman started his playing career at Livingston, captained the club, and made more than 100 appearances at Almondvale between 2000 and 2009 before going on to win titles as a manager with both Dundee (Scottish Championship) and Dunfermline (Scottish League One).
His sacking by Dunfermline in December 2024 has left him out of the dugout for nearly 18 months, and he hasn't been concretely linked with the post yet, but McPake's Championship pedigree and his roots in West Lothian make him the kind of romantic underdog appointment Livingston have leaned into before.
If Ford wants someone who already understands what Livingston means, McPake would jump at it.
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