On loan Adam Montgomery may have been fit after suffering a muscle injury, but misses out against his parent club when Livingston travel to Celtic on Saturday (15.00) seeking to snap a five game losing run against the Glasgow side.
David Martindale’s men sit in third position in the William Hill Premiership having accumulated four points out of a possible six with a draw at Kilmarnock and victory over Falkirk. Celtic have a maximum six points and are second, behind early-season leaders, Heart of Midlothian.
Now comes a big test at the home of the champions as manager Martindale bids to consolidate The Lions position in the 12-strong Premiership.
Livingston travel to Parkhead following their disappointing exit from the Premier Sports Cup, a 2-0 defeat at the Home of the Set Fare Arena by Hibs last Sunday.
Martindale admitted post-game that there is a gap between the top six in the league, and the bottom six, and Hibs were the first team from the higher echelon they have faced in some time.
Now they face another heavyweight but the Livi boss was fairly happy with “bits” of the performance against the men from Easter Road, but added that you get “crucified” if you make mistakes at the top level.
Martindale said the adversity of losing games of football cannot bite into the working week, and his philosophy is one game at a time.
Celtic go into the game following their disappointing 0-0 draw with Kazakhstani opposition at Celtic Park in midweek, a scoreline which did not impress home fans.
The performance against Kairat, a side ranked well below them in the UEFA standings, did not impress manager Brendan Rodgers either.
A chant aimed at the Celtic board rang around Parkhead at the final whistle on Wednesday. Fans want fresh blood into the club and so does manager Brendan Rodgers who has endured a frustrating lack of progress during the summer transfer window.
He told the media after Wednesday’s game that Celtic have started the season well, and been defensively strong, but he needs “moments of quality” up-front and he needs to “improve the squad”.
This could be a good time to face Celtic, however, Livingston could face a backlash.
Long-term, Martindale’s objective is to take the West Lothian club back to Hampden and then, hopefully, to achieve European football.
However, the short-term aspiration of The Lions this season is to consolidate in Scotland’s top league.
The transfer window is set to slam shut soon with Martindale seeking to add to his squad. A right-back is a priority after the squad suffering a number of injuries.
