Livingston

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Livingston are set to face ongoing disruption to their defence before Saturday's Premiership clash with Motherwell.

Defenders Danny Wilson, Shane Blaney and Adam Montgomery all went off injured in last weekend's 4-0 defeat by Hibernian, while winger Connor McLennan suffered a concussion.

Winger Lewis Smith missed the game along with defender Ryan McGowan and long-term absentees Cammy Kerr and Aidan Denholm.

Speaking on his side's recent injury woes Manager David Martindale said: "Wee Smithy has been out running so he should be okay for Saturday and I think Danny Wilson should be OK. Shane Blaney is a wee bit longer and potentially Adam Montgomery is a wee bit longer and it might be a wee bit too soon for Connor.

"Ryan has been in on Monday and Tuesday. He lost a wee bit of weight, but he is now back up to nearly where he was before he went into hospital. He has been out for a week now."

For Martindale, the lack of a consistent back line has made things more difficult.

The newly-promoted outfit are bottom of the Premiership with one win from nine matches.

"It's been hard to get continuity," the manager said. "Centre-back pairings have changed, full-backs have changed. It's not been ideal, it seems to be in the defensive line that lads are picking up a lot of injuries.

"Cammy Kerr came back and did his ankle in training. He is probably going to be another two weeks."

Stuart Barrie
Fan writer

I can't get over the defeat against Hibernian. It was a sore one.

The scoreline looked emphatic and Hibs were the better team by a distance in the second half, but it's also fair to say we competed okay in the first.

At 2-0 down, if we had managed to get a goal then you never know how it would have finished.

That said, we didn't trouble the keeper enough and the Hibs subs added an extra threat we couldn't cope with, so 4-0 it was.

Our guys didn't have a howler, Hibs were just better on the day.

They'll beat bigger teams than us with that scoreline this season, I'd wager.

In the Championship, you could win a game even if you weren't in top gear. In the Premiership you need every player to be at least a seven or eight out of 10 to get anything.

I have to take exception to a few comments on Sportscene, which indicated that Livi were miles off it this season.

We took a hammering in this game but we've had points snatched from us by Rangers and Hearts with last-minute goals.

We've had creditable draws at Dundee United and Aberdeen as well as taking our customary three points from the pundits' favourite team, Falkirk.

Perhaps the points aren't on the board but the performances are decent and the manager has found a good way to approach games, where we can attack without leaving ourselves open.

Results over the weekend mean we are bottom of the league. No one wants to be there at any time but if we get a win against Motherwell, another team the pundits are falling over themselves to praise, then we go above them.

It's all to play for.

Watch the Sportscene panel discuss how Livingston have made themselves "hard to beat" despite a 4-0 defeat to Hibs.

Watch highlights as Hibs ease past Livingston in the Scottish Premiership.

We asked for your thoughts after Livingston's 4-0 defeat to Hibs.

Here's a taste of what you had to say:

Del: Players need to work on their concentration, effort and cohesion. Do that and Livi stay up. The responsibility remains with the players for the rest of their careers. Playing with too much constraint, let their talents loose within the team

Thomas: Not sure why Robbie Muirhead, a talisman last season, can't get into the team. Hope the team selection settles down in the weeks to come to help build some momentum so we don't end up marooned at the foot of the table

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Livingston manager David Martindale: "Architects of our own downfall. We lose a goal on eight minutes from poor decision-making. We had started the game ok, but we're lucky to go in 1-0 down at half-time.

"Hibs exploited our left-hand channel. We changed shape and the [enforced] substitutions didn't help to be fair. We had to put a patchwork defence together.

"Then first five minutes [of the second half] we make a terrible decision. Cris [Montano] makes a really really poor decision [for the penalty]. And at that point the game is gone.

"Our sole aim is to make sure we're in the Premiership next year. That's it, the sole aim. I know we've got the staff and players capable of doing that.

"I think the year out was brilliant for us and a good reset. But coming back up we've got to lay the foundations to be a sustainable Premiership club."

Record signing Thibault Klidje inspired Hibernian to a first home win of the season as they hammered Livingston in the Scottish Premiership.

How concerned were you by Livingston's performance?

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Hibernian welcome back Miguel Chaiwa and Elie Youan after injury. Captain Joe Newell is stepping up his fitness after a long-term groin injury but not yet ready for squad involvement. Alasana Manneh (hamstring) is still out.

Livingston are hoping to get Joshua Brenet registered in time to feature while Cristian Montano, Cammy Kerr and Aidan Denholm are all closing in on comebacks. Ryan McGowan is not far behind them.

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Livingston full-back Cammy Kerr is determined to prove he still belongs in the top flight after spending 10 months injured on the sidelines.

The 30-year-old former Dundee captain joined David Martindale's men from Championship side Queen's Park in the summer but suffered a setback in his recovery from a groin injury when he ruptured his adductor in training shortly after signing for the West Lothian club.

After battling through the long-term injury, he could now make his debut as Livi travel to face Hibernian at Easter Road on Saturday.

"It's been an incredibly difficult period," Kerr said.

"It's the first time in my career that I've had such a long lay-off.

"I've had people coming up to me in the street asking 'are you still playing?'.

"I didn't think much of long-term injuries because I'd never had one, and I disregarded people being injured.

"I have a new-found appreciation for how difficult it is being injured, and how mentally tough it is.

"I like to pride myself on showing people what I can do on the pitch, giving my all. To not be able to do that at all for so long has been so hard.

"You can get written off by certain people, you need to prove to yourself and others that you can play in the top league, because I feel that's where I belong.

"That's my drive every day, I want to show I can play at the top league for Livingston and do well for them."

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• Hibernian are unbeaten in their last 17 top-flight home games against newly promoted opponents (W7 D10) since going down 0-1 to Ross County in December 2012 under Pat Fenlon.

• Livingston have won just one and lost four of their last six league meetings with Hibernian (D1), with that win coming in August 2023 (3-2).

• Hibernian are unbeaten in their last 15 home league games (W9 D6), although their last four have all been drawn. This is the longest run without a home defeat by a non-Old Firm club (Celtic/Rangers) in the Scottish top-flight since Hearts went 16 without a loss from January to October 2004.

• Livingston's Scottish Premiership games this season have seen more goals than any other side (24 – 10 for, 14 against).

• Only Celtic (14.0) have tallied a higher xG in the Scottish Premiership this season than Hibernian (12.2), while Livingston have faced the highest xGA of any side (14.5).

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David Martindale reckons the Scottish Premiership is a "lot more competitive" this season and is happy with Livingston "holding their own".

Livi have picked up six points from eight games since returning to the top flight, while there have been frustrating stoppage-time defeats against Hearts, Dundee and Rangers.

The West Lothian side make the short trip to Hibernian on Saturday, with Martindale citing them as a prime example of the improved standards.

"I think this level's actually got a little bit harder from where it was last year and where it probably was the year before when we got relegated," he said.

"You just need to look at the two Edinburgh teams. Predominantly over the last decade, you maybe had one doing well, and one going through transitional periods.

"David Gray has done a great job. Malky Mackay going into Hibs has helped them massively. I knew they would make Hibs better.

"You've now got someone upstairs helping make good football decisions, which helps David massively. And David knows the club inside out, and he's got a really good group of players, and they've recruited really, really well.

"You could say something very similar for Hearts. They got a really top manager, experienced manager [Derek McInnes] in. But you need to get upstairs right, and Tony Bloom coming in has allowed Hearts to develop that side of the game.

"I'm looking forward to playing Motherwell, their manager [Jens Berthel Askou] has brought a different type of football into the Premiership.

"So I think new management, new structures at clubs, new structures within clubs, have really helped.

"Then you look at Celtic. You're playing against Brendan Rodgers, top, top manager. What have they spent most summers – £20m?

"Does that make the league better? Does that push us to be better? Because the challenge in front of us has become harder. So does that then make the ones below that better again? I think it does.

"So the Premiership's got a lot more competitive. And I feel we're holding our own, and I think there's more to come from the group also and there's more to come from myself."

Stuart Barrie
Fan writer

The international break in October tends to be a time when some unfortunate manager gets the sack.

This time, to no-one's surprise, Russell Martin was shown the door at Rangers.

Some big names are being touted for the job, but in my opinion, one name is very surprisingly missing from the list.

It's one name that would motivate any squad, even the underachieving big names at Rangers. With nearly five years of experience in the dugout, this name is also the longest serving manager in the league.

Yet you won't find this name on any bookies odds list and no pundit has stuck their neck out to suggest it either. That name is David Martindale.

Since taking the reins at Livingston in 2020, Martindale has worked miracles on one of the smallest budgets in the top flight.

He inherited a team struggling for form and identity and turned them into one of the most hard-working, organised and difficult sides to play against in the league.

Within weeks of becoming manager, well officially manager anyway, he led Livi to a club-record 14-game unbeaten run and a League Cup final, all while operating with laughably limited resources and a squad built on smart recruitment.

What sets Martindale apart is his honesty and authenticity. He speaks with passion and you can see that passion written on his face at every game.

He owns his past mistakes, clearly loves the game and loves Livingston. He has built trust with players, fans, and even rival managers who seem to genuinely respect his work.

He's also media-savvy and authentic without being artificial or playing daft mind games - a rare quality in modern football management.

Martindale's record speaks for itself. If he can achieve mid-table finishes and cup runs with a club whose entire wage bill is probably the same number as Callum McGregor's P60, imagine what he could do with more resources.

Maybe that's one of the reasons he's being avoided. He wouldn't accept prima donna behaviours or overgrown egos.

It's true he's got a very big say in the running of the whole club, so maybe it wouldn't suit him to go to a club where things are done differently.

In a football world obsessed with big names and flashy resumes, it's easy to overlook a manager like Martindale and that's to Livi's advantage.

However, there will be a day that things don't click like they do now or get stale.

He's our most successful manager and it's hard to argue against him being our best ever manager too.

I hope we get the fruits of Davie's work for a long time to come.

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Scottish FA head of referees Willie Collum has backed Ross Hardie's decision to give Dundee a stoppage-time penalty in their 3-2 victory over Livingston last month.

The decision had enraged Livingston manager David Martindale.

Referee Hardie was called to his monitor after the video assistants claimed Dundee forward Charlie Reilly had initiated contact with Danny Wilson after the centre-half initially put his boot out then planted it.

"We can fully support the penalty," told the Scottish FA's VAR Review Show. "What we don't want in this exact scenario is a referee brought to the monitor.

Macaulay Tait says Hearts wanted him as part of their squad this season, but the 20-year-old midfielder preferred to join Livingston on loan because he would not be guaranteed game time at Tynecastle. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Livingston have invested six figures into developing an app that is specific to manager David Martindale and the Scottish Premiership club in an attempt to mirror the success of Hearts investor Tony Bloom's Jamestown Analytics. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Macaulay Tait hopes his impressive form at Livingston will result in a Scotland Under-21 debut against Gibraltar at Dens Park on Thursday.

Tait has started 12 matches in all competitions for David Martindale's side this season, after struggling to establish himself in the first team at parent club Hearts.

"It's been exactly what I wanted when I left Hearts, so to make that step up into the top flight and to be playing every week's been brilliant," Tait said, who also spent the second half of last season on loan at Livingston.

"I wanted to take the confidence from last season into this and continue to push myself and I'm really enjoying it and I think now I'm starting to grow in confidence and I believe that I can actually play at this level."

Martindale has praised Tait's impact in West Lothian and the midfielder himself is pleased to be rewarded with a call-up to Scot Gemmill's squad for the European Championship qualifiers against Gibraltar and Azerbaijan.

"It was really nice to get that recognition," Tait said. "It's something I've not really been involved with so it's been nice. It was something I had in the back of my mind, to try and get into the squad, but to finally do it, it's been really good.

"Hopefully I can play as much as I can and help the boys win these two games and get us on track."

Livingston defender Cammy Kerr says leaving Dundee earlier this year was the hardest thing he has ever done. (Courier - subscription required), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish gossip

Stuart Barrie
Fan writer

In the four games between international breaks we have played really well. We've been on the front foot and played some really good football.

However, a welcome point, albeit against high-flying Dundee United, is all we have to show for the past few days.

At least we came away with a point at Tannadice after somehow snatching defeat from Dundee a couple of weeks back.

Against United, Livingston were electric in the first half and good value for the lead.

However, the hosts came out all guns blazing after the break and were probably the better team. I'd have snapped your hand off for a point prior to the game but somehow felt disappointed not to get the win.

I have to take a moment to salute Scott Pittman. Livingston's Mr Quiet but also Mr Reliable. Since joining in February 2015 from Bo'ness United he's gone on to be our all-time appearance record holder, surpassing fellow local lad Keaghan Jacobs.

Pitts famously scored a key goal in one of our most revered wins back in 2018, which helped us through the play-off final, and the rest is history as Thistle fans will testify.

He scored and shone again on Saturday and shows no signs of slowing down.

I thought Pitts' best days were maybe behind him in the season we were relegated and I'm delighted to see him back on top form this term.

He's got an incredible engine, plays so unselfishly for the team and has a knack of scoring too. You will not find a humbler, less self-assuming footballer anywhere.

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Livingston held Dundee United to a 1-1 draw at Tannadice on Saturday afternoon and they've got one player in my team of the week.

Jerome Prior has had an outstanding start to the season and has narrowly missed out on selection for team of the week more than once. Takes his place between the sticks this week after more sterling work, this time away to Dundee United.

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Livingston manager David Martindale praised "brilliant" stand-in centre-half Mo Sylla after his side's 1-1 Premiership draw at Dundee United.

Martindale played the midfielder in the heart of his defence last week against Rangers and again on Saturday at Tannadice, as Ryan McGowan is still not available.

Sylla made a vital goal-line clearance as Livi pushed for a winner and Martindale says he was delighted with the 31-year-old's contribution.

"Ryan McGowan better watch himself," the Livi boss said.

"I used Mo in pre-season for half an hour. Something told me to try him there and he wasn't too bad.

"When Ryan got his illness, the boys in the office got a shock when I said I'd play Mo there. I think he has been brilliant and again today [Saturday] he was very good.

"On the ball in the first half everyone was really good but the back four, midfield four and goalie were tremendous against the ball - Mo being a big positive within that."

The wind that followed Storm Amy played a big part in the game at Tannadice but Martindale believes his team coped well with the conditions

He added: "Speaking to the players, we were with the wind in the first half and we were well worth the goal and maybe could have had another.

"We forced United into a change. Second half, you could probably understand why we had a lot of territory in the first half.

"The wind was swirling and it made it really difficult to defend your final third but the players did that well.

"We lost the goal from a set-play with an individual not doing their job but we defended our 18-yard box really well."

Watch all the highlights as Dundee United and Livingston play out a 1-1 draw in the Scottish Premiership.

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Danny Wilson says Livingston have "got a lot to prove" at Scottish Premiership level, but they won't ditch the style that brought them back to the top tier.

Livi have six points from their first eight league games after bouncing straight back up from a season in the Championship.

And defender Wilson assures David Martindale's side are not aiming to abandon the approach that delivered such success.

"The manager's been quite vocal about saying he didn't want to change too much from last season," Wilson said after Livi picked up a point at Dundee United.

"We had a good season last year and there was a definite shift in the way we wanted to play, so we're trying to continue with that.

"We have to factor in we're playing a higher level this year, against better players, better athletes, so we take all that into account.

"We'll make the adaptations we need to, but we'll try to play in the meantime."

The West Lothian club held on for a potentially pivotal point at United, bucking the recent trend of conceding late goals, and head into the international break with a spring in their step.

"I think you try not to think about it, but it is a fact we have conceded goals late on and it has cost us points," Wilson added, alluding to games against Rangers, Dundee and Hearts.

"We would probably have a slightly better points total if we'd been able to brush up on that.

"So it was important we didn't do that again and we managed to put a point on the board.

"We're a team that's still got a lot to prove at this level."

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Livingston manager David Martindale: "First half, we were very, very good. Second half, Dundee United, they kind of pinned us in a wee bit. We could've done a wee bit better on the counter. Overall, a point was probably fair for both teams.

"We got a lot right in the first half. I didn't realise how difficult it was [in the first half] for Dundee United because I had that in the second half. The weather probably made it difficult for Dundee United.

"We were very, very good in terms of our press, our use of the ball and our shape. The home team changing their shape's testament to us."

Krisztian Keresztes' first goal for Dundee United secured a Scottish Premiership point after Scott Pittman's strike gave Livingston a deserved first-half lead.

Read the match report here.

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