Livi were already on 10 points and another season of unlikely survival looked likely. Martindale was doing what Martindale does; extracting more from his paltry budget than he had any right to.

Saints are a bigger club, with a bigger budget and a bigger fan base, so it was not fanciful to think Martindale might steer them clear of relegation then thrive in that relatively opulent environment.

He is never going to have football hipsters raving about him, but Martindale is indisputably effective - a streetfighter who gets more out of his resources than big-name managers at bigger-budget clubs.

For four years he has been Scottish football's Sam Allardyce.

St Johnstone instead went for Craig Levein and now have 21 points, 17 more than they did when MacLean was sacked.

Livingston now have 12.

That's right, Martindale's side have picked up just two points since October - the 7th of the month to be exact. Goalless home draws against Saints and Kilmarnock are all they have to show from almost four months of games.

That 14-match winless run in the Scottish Premiership means they are six points adrift in the table - with a -23 goal difference - and have played two games more than second-bottom Ross County.

Martindale has gone from the clever user of minimal resources every chairman would love to a man already talking about the Championship.

'It's not easy, but I'll come out swinging'

Whether the manager has lost his Midas touch or whether Livi's recruitment has simply not been as canny is open for debate.

What is certain is that they are in deep trouble - and while Martindale said he would "feel a bit of a coward if I was to up sticks" and leave, the picture he paints of life at Livi right now is not a rosy one.

"Where we are is not easy. There's a lot of tension, frustration, anxiety and underlying emotions," he added.

"We've let ourselves down this season. I've let the team and the fans down this season. The players have let the fans and the staff down. The staff have let the players down. We're all in this together."

Tuesday will test his resolve to fight on. Livi face County and Martindale says he will "come out swinging" in what is "a huge game in the season, one we need to win". He hopes his "positivity, fight, aggression, and frustration is going to help the players" in the Highlands and beyond.

Another defeat might change his outlook about his future - or prompt the club into taking action, with trips to Rangers and fourth-placed Kilmarnock to follow.

"It's dire straits for Livi. The rest are thankful how it's panning out for them. Unfortunately, you don't really see how they're going to dig themselves out of it," former Scotland midfielder Michael Stewart said on Sportsound.

"If County are able to pick up a victory, they'll be nine points ahead. It would be very, very interesting what happens at that stage with David Martindale, whether he looks at walking away or whether he's sacked.

"Martindale always seemed to get a tune out of the players. They look like they're off it this season.

"When you take that wee edge out of them, that can be the difference. When you look at the manager, he doesn't look like he has the same fire in his belly."

End of the Livingston-Martindale story?

This season certainly bears little resemblance to the previous years of Martindale's tenure. He took over in December 2020 and guided Livi to a sixth-placed finish despite an awful final run of results and was edged out in the League Cup final.

The season after they were seventh, on 49 points - a mammoth 20 clear of relegation worries. Last season they finished eighth, and again never in any danger of the drop.

There was a sizable turnover of players in the summer and those coming in have not excelled. Striker Joel Nouble's possible exit would weaken the squad further; Livi are already the division's lowest scorers.

It smells like the end of what has been a very successful marriage, with Livi in the top flight for half a decade and Martindale establishing his reputation as an able operator after an undistinguished past.

Victory against County - and Derek Adams' side are hardly flying themselves - may change the narrative and the momentum, but if it's another defeat and club and manager part company, the irony is Martindale would fit the bill perfectly as his own successor, no matter which league Livi are in next season.

Yet even in the Championship, Livi would not have the biggest budget, so Martindale might not have the stomach to try to haul them back up.

The club's board, meanwhile, would need to feel that four years ensuring Livi punched above their weight had not taken too much of a toll on him.

Tuesday's game is likely to demonstrate whether the streetfighter still has some shots left to fire.