Marvin Bartley: Former Hibs and Livingston midfielder confident he can climb table with Queen of the South

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Former Hibs midfielder and Livingston player-coach Marvin Bartley is aiming to move Queen of the South up the table after taking over as manager.

The 36-year-old, who replaces WIllie Gibson in the Queens dugout, hopes to use knowledge he has gained from working under Eddie Howe and Martindale to help the League One club climb the table. They are currently eighth. He has made the move from Livingston, where he was assistant to Martindale.

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Bartley holds a UEFA A Licence and started his career at Bournemouth under Howe, who also took him to Burnley. He said: “I have enjoyed being assistant at Livingston and owe David Martindale a huge debt of gratitude for the time taken to help mould my management style, but I feel the time is right for me to make a step up and be my own boss.

“My experience at Livingston, coupled with the knowledge accrued playing under Eddie Howe and Sean Dyche puts me in good stead to make the most of the opportunity at Queens, which is a great club with a lot of potential. They have a strong youthful squad and with a few additions I’m confident we can climb the table. I am looking forward to the challenge and can’t wait to get started.”

Bartley moved from Burnley to Scotland in 2015 when he joined Hibs, winning promotion and the Scottish Cup, After leaving Easter Road he joined Livingston to take up a coaching role alongside playing, before hanging up his boots last year.

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Queens chairman Billy Hewitson said “We have taken a couple of weeks to weigh up our options and are confident that Marvin was the best candidate. He is young, starting out in management but has experience having been part of the coaching team at Livingston. We welcome him to Palmerston as we aim to push up the table.”

Bartley will observe his new Queen of the South players from the stand on Tuesday when the Doonhamers host Kelty Hearts in the quarter-finals of the SPFL Trust Trophy.