The question had to be asked. Was this an enforced resignation? Lambert spent his career as a player protecting defenders. As a manager, it seems, his policy has been to protect his attackers, too. “It will remain private,” he said. “I’d like to thank everybody at the club, especially the players, and I hope they stay up. You’ll probably surmise until the day is long, ‘Was I pushed or did I jump?’ but that remains private.”
It was telling, however, that Lambert had not spoken to Flynn, the club owner, after the game. The pre-match rumours were right: lose to Dunfermline and Lambert knew he was out. He didn’t have to ask in the aftermath of the 7-0 defeat to Hibernian last midweek. The players are understood to have known beforehand that if they lost, it was over for their manager. Lambert was also stating firmly that he still believed Livingston could stay up. “There’s a country mile to go,” he said. So why walk now? It all hints at him not being given an option.
Not that Kyles, the Livingston chief executive, was prepared to say as much as she prepares to recruit the club’s fifth manager in the past two years, David Hay, Allan Preston and Richard Gough having preceded Lambert. “I guess we’re very disappointed we’re in the position we are in the league. It’s a results-driven business, the guys have given everything and it’s not happened. For Paul to take that decision himself, it’s with a lot of regret I’m accepting his resignation,” she said. “Paul’s decision was whether he was still the right person to take them forward and he’s decided not.”
Lambert claimed it would be a “cop-out” for him to say he should have started his management career at a lower level. Since arriving in July he has claimed he “enjoyed pressure”, but much of his spell has had to be endured; not least the Scottish Cup exit to Alloa, bottom of the Second Division. “You won’t see me talking about this again. I’ll take a break, and for the first time in my life I’ll be out of football for a wee spell. I love the game, though, and I’m not so demoralised by management that I won’t want to come back in.
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“Pearse has a reputation for having a quicker sword than Zorro, but I wouldn’t have a bad word to say about anybody at the club. As a successful man, I’m sure he feels it. There’s a time when you feel enough’s enough, you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t feel it and I’m sure Pearse does, but if you’re asking me if whoever replaces me will have problems? Not at all. For about three-and-a-half milliseconds there was mourning among the players, but managers come and go.”
They certainly do here. After joking that Alex McLeish was welcome to submit his cv, Kyles claimed not to have an idea of any potential candidates, but doubted there would be any shortage of takers. “Some of the changes in manager have been our choice, some of them have not, there have been good points in all the ones we’ve had,” she added.
Lambert joked in closing that his “worst decision” was to return from retirement to take to the field as a player again. “We lost virtually every game I played,” he smiled, thinly. That wasn’t his worst selection choice, though. That was opting for Livingston.