Bruce Anderson believes it is “only a matter of time” before Livingston manager David Martindale is the subject of approaches from other clubs.

The Lions boss has turned his life around since spending time in prison for drugs-related offences more than a decade ago.

Livingston took a chance on Martindale several years ago, allowing him to get involved in professional football, and the 48-year-old has seized his opportunity impressively.

Since stepping up to become manager, he has established the Lions as a Premiership side over the past five seasons despite operating with one of the lowest budgets in the league.

Martindale, who has been loosely mentioned in connection with recent vacancies at Rangers, Aberdeen and Dundee United, said on Thursday he has ambitions to move on to a higher-profile club some time in the future, and striker Anderson suspects it might be sooner rather than later.

“I think so but I hope not,” he said. “I hope he stays here, but I think it will probably only be a matter of time before one of the big clubs come calling if he keeps doing what he’s doing here.

“Since I’ve come to the club, his man-management has been brilliant. It’s not just on the park, it’s off the park.

“You can talk to him about anything and he always seems to know the right things to say. His mentality and never-say-die attitude feeds down to the players and everybody else at the club.”

The Lions have the chance to climb back into the top six this weekend when they host fourth-place Hibernian, and Martindale has been impressed with the way Lee Johnson appears to have turned things round at Easter Road after coming under heavy pressure from his own supporters in the first half of the season.

“We’re at home and we’re capable of taking points off anyone at home,” said the Livi boss.

“Hibs at Easter Road is a different football team to Hibs at Livingston, and that’s probably because we’re just a little bit stronger at home.

“Lee’s done a good job and he’s on a trajectory where he’s on a good run of form. It was tough for him at the start but he seems to have turned that round.

“There are players who have come into the club in January and bedded in fairly well. He brought summer recruits in who didn’t hit the ground running but they’ve now had that bedding-in period, and with Lee himself coming into Scottish football, I think you can see now that they’ve had that adaptation period that Hibs are in a much better place.”