Glenn Whelan the new boss of relegated Livingston

Republic of Ireland assistant coach Glenn Whelan before the international friendly match between Portugal and Republic of Ireland at Estádio Municipal de Aveiro in Aveiro, Portugal in 202. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Glenn Whelan is the new manager of Scottish side Livingston.

The former Republic of Ireland international takes over following the club's relegation from the Scottish Premiership. Outgoing boss Marvin Bartley resigned earlier this month.

Whelan, 42, has coaching experience with Bristol Rovers and Wigan, where he also served twice as interim manager. He also worked in the Ireland setup when John O'Shea was in temporary charge.

Whelan earned 91 Ireland caps in a distinguished playing career, best known at club level for his nine-year spell with Stoke.

Speaking after his appointment, Whelan said: “I’m delighted to have been given this opportunity as Head Coach of Livingston, something I’m incredibly proud of, and I will give my all for the club moving forward.

“I’m eager to grasp this opportunity and help build a successful team that the fans can be truly proud of and get right behind. I’m grateful to the board for their belief in me, and the hard work has already begun.

“I can’t wait to get started and look forward to the journey ahead.” 

Sporting Director David Martindale added: “I’m delighted to bring Glenn in as our new Head Coach. I know it’s taken a little bit of time, but we needed to make sure we got the right fit for the club, and we feel we’ve done that.

“There was a huge amount of interest, and it wasn’t an easy decision. However, after detailed interviews, Glenn came across incredibly well, and we all feel there is real alignment between how Glenn approaches the game and how we want to do things ourselves.

“He had a top playing career and has done the hard yards at several clubs, learning the game from a coach’s point of view. He has also had spells in charge as interim manager at Wigan and within the coaching set-up at Republic of Ireland.

“His beliefs and values align very well with ours, and we are delighted to give him this opportunity — and equally delighted that he has accepted it.

“To have played close to 100 games for his country and over 300 games in the EPL shows that we are bringing in an elite mindset and an individual with a real winning mentality.”