Livingston

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Livingston manager Marvin Bartley tells BBC Sportsound: "We started the game far too slowly and we were punished.

"I said to the players at half-time massive credit for bouncing back the way they did, because it would have been easy at 2-0 down and bottom of the league to not get back up. They did that.

"I'm proud of them, I really am. Obviously the start is not what we wanted but it's about what you do in adversity.

"They faced it head on and nearly got a winner as well, though Dundee got their chances as well and it was like basketball in the end.

"People will walk away saying Livingston are bottom of the league but they showed great fight and great spirit today. That's credit to the players.

"We're going to be tested in other games, though I never want to be two goals down as quickly, and we're going to have to stand up to it.

"Tactically and technically you might get things wrong at times but if you put in that work rate then you've got a massive chance.

"It's better than losing a game and we've got more than enough games to catch the teams above us. We play Kilmarnock and St Mirren before the split and post-split you play the teams around you again.

"We're a point closer to Kilmarnock than we were yesterday.

"I told the players it might not be until the last day of the season we turn it all around but we will turn it around. This is a big point for us considering where we were at the start of the game."

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Winger Barrie McKay has joined Scottish Premiership bottom club Livingston until the end of the season.

McKay, 31, most recently featured for Hearts, leaving Tynecastle at the end of last season.

Previously, he turned out for Rangers, Nottingham Forest and Swansea, and also played on loan at Morton, Raith Rovers and Fleetwood.

He won his sole Scotland cap in 2016, coming on as a substitute in a defeat by France.

McKay is nearing 400 club appearances and could feature in Livingston's Premiership visit to Dundee on Saturday.

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Dundee remain without centre-backs Billy Koumetio (knee) and Clark Robertson (thigh) plus forwards Joe Westley (ankle) and Ashley Hay (broken toe).

Livingston will be without Babacar Fati (thigh) and possibly Samson Lawal after their late withdrawals against Celtic.

Scott Arfield (hamstring) and Connor McLennan (ankle) were also missing in midweek along with Aidan Denholm (hamstring).

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• Dundee (240) and Livingston (245) are the two sides to have had the fewest shots in the Scottish Premiership this season, while they are both in the top four for shots faced (Dundee 392, Livingston 379).

• Livingston have lost their past four league games, last losing five in a row in the Premiership in December 2023 (seven).

• Dundee have failed to score in four league matches, but haven't done so in five successive top-flight games since February 2013.

• Livingston have lost four of their past five Premiership games against Dundee (D1), as many as their previous 15 in the top flight beforehand (W6 D5 L4).

• Dundee have won their two home league games against newly-promoted sides Falkirk and Livingston this season; they had only won two of their previous 16 top-flight home matches against promoted opponents before this (D5 L9).

Livingston are closing in on a deal to sign Barrie McKay for the rest of the season, with the 31-year-old former Heart of Midlothian and Rangers winger having trained with the Scottish Premiership strugglers as he looks to end six months without a club. (Daily Record), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Watch the highlights as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scores a late goal on his debut to help Celtic to a narrow win over bottom side Livingston. Available to UK users only

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain curled home a magnificent debut goal in second-half stoppage time to secure a potentially crucial win for Celtic over Livingston in the Scottish Premiership title race.

Read the match report

Have your say

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Livingston boss Marvin Bartley tells BBC Scotland: "Gutted. I'm upset for the players but I'm also proud of them. The effort was magnificent to a man and I'm hurting for them because we were so close to picking up a vital point.

"The quality Celtic are bringing off the bench is huge, but we matched them in terms of effort. We just weren't able to hang on at the end.

"We knew what we were going to face. The players stood up to them for long periods and stayed in the game. We got the penalty and Scott Pittman has a big chance as well.

"We can do it. Until it's mathematically impossible we will not give up. Can we narrow the gap before the split? Then you're playing the teams around you and those games are huge.

"I've seen more than enough from the players to know they can do it. We need to start picking up points as quickly as possible now."

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Former Raith Rovers manager Grant Murray has joined Marvin Bartley's coaching team at Livingston for the remainder of the season.

The former defender has also had coaching roles at Hibs, Edinburgh City, Queen's Park and Queen of the South, laterally under Bartley in 2023.

"When I first came up to Scotland to play for Hibs, Grant was a coach there and gradually became more involved when Neil Lennon took over as manager and then I had him as my assistant at Queen of the South so I know him really well," manager Bartley said.

"He's someone I trust and adds a pair of experienced eyes to my coaching team.

"He's had a successful football career both as a player and as a coach – lifting silverware during his time at Raith Rovers as manager too.

"His high standards, great work ethic and professionalism are traits that are non-negotiables for me and he'll help further instil that in the group."

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Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney is set to play with a broken nose while new signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could potentially make the squad.

Cameron Carter-Vickers (Achilles), Jota (knee), Alistair Johnston and Callum Osmand (both hamstring) remain out.

Livingston pair Scott Arfield (hamstring) and Connor McLennan (ankle) join Aidan Denholm (hamstring) on the sidelines.

Cristian Montano could return after injury while Jeremy Bokila is available after suspension.

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Free agent Barrie McKay is training with Livingston and could be offered a contract after the Premiership strugglers lost Scott Arfield and Connor McLennan to injury.

Former Rangers playmaker McKay, 31, has been without a club since leaving Hearts last summer.

Manager Marvin Bartley refused to be drawn on interest in McKay but did confirm that veteran midfielder Arfield and winger McLennan are facing spells on the sidelines with hamstring and ankle injuries respectively.

"I don't think they'll be back for the next couple of weeks, put it that way," he said.

"I think Connor will be slightly longer than Scottie is, but definitely not for the next couple of weeks.

"It's a massive blow. We're down in numbers in terms of the size of the squad as well, so losing any players at this moment in time makes it extremely difficult, especially those two players.

"Connor's done extremely well for us and obviously Scottie was brought in (in January) to give us that boost in attacking areas.

"We've lost two boys from the top end of the pitch, but it's an opportunity for others to now step up and go into the team and take their places."

Bottom side Livi visit third-placed Celtic on Wednesday bidding to end a 25-game run without victory.

"It's a massive task, isn't it?" said Bartley. "Celtic are obviously chasing another title. It'll be extremely difficult.

"On any given day, anything can happen. If you go into football thinking you can't win, then it would be pointless."

Stuart Barrie
Fan writer

A last strain of positivity evaporated as the Marvin Bartley managerial era kicked off with defeat to Falkirk.

It was a huge annoyance to their fans that the team from Grangemouth just couldn't beat us and we revelled in it.

Our last win, back in the hopeful days of August, was against them. Now those bragging rights are gone.

Fair play to their fans though, they came to the Home of the Set Fare Arena in big, impressive numbers which we will happily bank the proceeds from.

Those funds will help sustain our ever-growing backroom team, with recent additions of course including David Martindale as sporting director. I've never seen such infrastructure at Livingston and it is both welcome and terrifying.

How can we afford such a list? It's wonderful that chairman Calvin Ford's investment is providing the club with such deep resources.

However, should our benefactor decide Scottish football is not for him and pull the plug, Livingston will be in the familiar position of skint and too many bills to pay. We all know how that ended the last time… and the time before that.

Putting aside the financial concerns of the backroom costs, there is more pressing concerns of staying up occupying the thoughts of Livi fans.

Marvin is popular and respected, he's been at Livi a while and has the fans onside. I do think he is the manager and not just in name. He'll pick the team and not just be a yes man.

He has to get the team playing like they did in the second half against Falkirk. The first half was miles off but something clicked at half-time.

Whatever big Marv said or did - we need a repeat against Dundee. We can't keep relying on Kilmarnock being as bad as we are. We have to start winning.

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• This will be Martin O'Neill's 200th league game in charge of Celtic (P199 W163 D20 L15 to date) - the sixth manager to reach that milestone with the club. He has already won the most matches of any manager within their opening 200 league fixtures with the club (164, Neil Lennon second with 154).

• Benjamin Nygren has scored in Celtic's past four league games; the last player to score in five successive league appearances for the club was Daizen Maeda in March 2025, while the last to do so during his debut campaign was Scott Sinclair in September 2016 (six). Nygren has four goals in two Scottish Premiership games against Livingston – his most against any side in the division.

• Celtic remain unbeaten in all 22 of their home games against Livingston in all competitions (W19 D3), only ever facing Dumbarton more times on home soil without losing (26).

• Livingston have lost their past 10 meetings with Celtic in all competitions by an aggregate score of 30-6 since a 0-0 stalemate in October 2021.

• Livingston are winless in 23 league games (D7 L16) since beating Falkirk 3-1 in August. It's the longest run without a win by any side in Scotland's top flight in the 21st century.

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Curacao defender Joshua Brenet has left Livingston to join Turkish top-flight side Kayserispor for an undisclosed fee.

The 31-year-old joined Livi in October on a deal until the end of the season, but has exercised a clause in his contract to depart.

He made 15 appearances for the Scottish Premiership bottom club.

Watch Falkirk inflict more pressure on struggling Livingston with a 2-1 win at Almondvale in Marvin Bartley's first game as boss. (Available to UK users only)

Falkirk's impressive first half performance saw them establish a two-goal lead and despite pulling a goal back after the break, Livingston's long winless run continues.

Read the full match report here.

Let us know your thoughts here.

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Livingston manager Marvin Bartley told BBC Scotland: "When you play games of football and you cost yourself with two goals in the first half, maybe people will say you don't deserve anything.

"In the second half we got a massive reaction from the players but I told them we shot ourselves in the foot twice with the goals we conceded and we need to eradicate that if we're to have a chance of staying in this league.

"At half time I told them that at 2-0 down there's two ways you can look at it. You can say 'That's us done' or you can show a reaction with a bit of fight and a bit of spirit.

"We changed the shape slightly as well to try and get a bit of pressure on the top end. I said to go and run themselves into the ground and we'll use our substitutes if we have to.

"I need to watch it back because the things that stick in my mind are the two goals we conceded. The players have taken in a lot of information from the staff in the last couple of days and were told to go over that line and do everything to the best of their ability.

"They're disappointed. There were a lot of heads down at half time but we had to pick spirits up to have a go in the second half, which they did.

"We need to take care of the things we can control and for me we didn't do that today.

"It's one game. There will be a lot of learning from that.,

"We've got a massive game at Celtic Park, and all games are massive for us now, but we'll look back on that with the staff, tell the players what they did well, what we didn't do so well, and improve."

We asked for your thoughts on Livingston's business in the January transfer window.

Here's what some of you said:

Leslie: Would have thought the Lions would have brought in a central defender. Unfortunately, Ryan McGowan and Danny Wilson look to be struggling with the intensity of the Premiership. Brooklyn Kabongolo is relatively untested at this level, leaving only Daniel Finlayson as the first choice centre back, full-credit to him for that though. But I can't help but feel we are massively lacking in that department, not only in depth but in quality, as seen from tragic attempts of defending in recent games.

Malky: These signings were basically excess signings. If the right decisions had been made in the first place, Livi would've had a tight efficient squad to cope. But David Martindale and his "sign now, think later" policy have made it shambolic, and is Marvin Bartley going to be his own man or is Davie working him from the back?

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• Livingston have only won one of their six previous top-flight meetings with Falkirk (D2 L3), though that was their first league win of this season, a 3-1 home victory back in August.

• Only one of the last six Scottish Premiership matches between two newly promoted clubs has been won by the home side (two draws, three away wins), although that was Livingston's 3-1 win over Falkirk in August this season.

• Livingston are winless in their last 15 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) games in the Scottish Premiership (D6 L9) since a 2-1 victory over Aberdeen in November 2022.

• Falkirk have failed to win all four of their midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games this season (D2 L2), and are winless in seven midweek matches in the top-flight overall (D4 L3) since a 1-0 victory at Aberdeen in February 2010.

• Livingston have won five of their last seven Scottish Premiership games at home to newly promoted opponents (L2), including a 3-1 win over Falkirk earlier this season.

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New Livingston boss Marvin Bartley hopes to have Scott Arfield and Cristian Montano back from injury but Jeremy Bokila is suspended and Aidan Denholm (hamstring) is still not ready to be involved.

Falkirk add loan signing Ben Broggio while Ben Parkinson (ankle) and Ethan Williams (thigh) are out.