Ange Postecoglou has moved to give Livingston boss David Martindale a pep talk - urging him to belief more in himself.

The Celtic gaffer insists he's a huge admirer of the work the Lions No.1 has carried out at the Tony Macaroni Stadium over the past two-years.

The West Lothian side are flying high in the Premiership once again this season. They're currently in fourth spot and look on course to qualify for European football next term.

Many supporters, pundits and others involved in the game cannot understand why another club hasn't come calling for Martindale's obvious managerial skills.

The champions host Martindale's men tonight. And Postecoglou has told the 48-year-old he has to talk himself up more often.

He said: “That’s because he continually puts himself down, mate. He’s the one who keeps saying, ‘No-one’s going to come for me!’

“But, from my perspective, like every manager you’ve got to look at the body of work they’ve done and you decide on that. He’s done a great job at Livingston whether he wants to move on or other people see that.

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“The science of picking a manager is not that sophisticated, mate, depending on which club is making the decision."

The Australian admitted that he feels for every manager in Scotland's top flight, actually. 

The Hoops gaffer recognises the difficulties that come with managing most clubs operating at this level.

If anything, it only adds to the respect Postecoglou has for Martindale and the rest of his Premiership rivals in the dugout.

He continued: “I have sympathy for every Premiership manager - it’s a tough role - irrespective of your background and irrespective of whether you’ve been in the job for a minute or you’ve been in the job for 30 years. It’s a tough gig, especially today. 

“So I have great respect and admiration for anybody in that role because I understand the daily pressures and the expectations that are put upon them.

“The one thing I feel we should all do as managers is let our work do the talking for us and I think David has done that.

“I’m fortunate here to have a great set up where I don’t have to stress about too many of the details. Other managers don’t have that luxury I guess.

“It can be a stressful time because obviously the most important thing is still the games you’ve got ahead of you. You’ve got the same amount of time you would have in any other week but now it’s taken up by other things."