Top-flight boss convinced Celtic fringe man can still prove a Parkhead success story due to one standout characteristic
David Martindale is adamant a Hoops fringe player can shine during his loan spell with Livingston
Livingston manager David Martindale is adamant that on loan Celtic defender Adam Montgomery will prove he can cut it in the Scottish Premiership and still be a success story at Parkhead.
The 23-year-old full-back has embarked on his SIXTH loan spell away from the Hoops in West Lothian after joining the Lions last month, with Martindale pitching him straight in to the starting line-up for their previous three games.
Montgomery’s future at Celtic remains uncertain. He was highly rated by Brendan Rodgers’ predecessor Ange Postecoglou, but he hasn’t made a first-team appearance since December 2021.
He spent the second half of last season with Queen's Park in the Championship, but Martindale reckons he can salvage his career in Glasgow’s east end after expressing an immediate hunger to make his mark at Livingston.
“That's testament to Adam's mindset,” Martindale admitted as he spoke of Montgomery's desire to remain on the pitch during Saturday's 3-1 Premiership win over Falkirk, despite sustaining a muscle injury in the first-half.
“He's been away with Celtic and missed a lot of pre-season with us, so it's about managing his load. He wanted to stay on the park and wanted me to give him another 15 minutes. but we'd already used two stoppages and I said to him that I couldn't take that risk 60 minutes into a game. So I had to make that decision at half-time to take him off, otherwise he would've been on the pitch for longer.
“Listen, it's really difficult for him (at Celtic). Of course, they do things impeccably well but he was maybe player number 30, 32, I don't know. It's really hard to get game intensity into players that are around the perimeter of the squad.
“Adam hadn't played much football. Unfortunately for him, he joined us just as Celtic were entering that period where their game intensity would've increased preparing for the Champions League, at the same time we were preparing for the Premier Sports Cup and had already been through a four, five game stretch.
“Guys like Scott Pittman and Ryan McGowan probably had about eight games under their belt before Adam came in. He's not had that luxury. So I think it's really important that if you're going to go out and play football then you do it at your earliest opportunity. I think that's shown with Adam.
“The quicker we get Adam in a better place, the better. I've got to take that on board as well because I threw him straight in. I asked Adam if he felt ready to play and he said 'I want to play, gaffer'. I've thrown him in at a time where we've probably been struggling in that area of the pitch. But he's worked hard for that chance.”