David Martindale believes his injury-hit Livingston squad are not far from where they would like to be.
Currently, the men from the Home of the Set Fare Arena prop up the rest, but the straight-talking Livi boss said that losing late goals in tight games, plus the loss of key players, including experienced skipper, Ryan McGowan, who was in hospital for three weeks, had hindered progress on their return to the elite of Scottish football.
On Saturday, the West Lothian-based club host high-flying Hibs (15.00), a side they have faced twice so far, once in the Premier Sports Cup and also in the league at Easter Road when Thibalt Klidje, James McGrath and a double from Junior Hoilett made the difference.
That game was on Saturday, October 18 and three of the strikes came in the second-half. The pair also met at The Home of the Set Fare Arena on Sunday, August 2 in the second round of the Cup and the visitors won 2-0, Klidje, Hibs’ record signing, counting after 43 minutes with Josh Mulligan adding the second three minutes from full time.
Livingston captain Ryan McGowan (pictured) again misses out as he recovers from leg surgery, and Brian Rice, the club’s head of football operations, was at Easter Road on Wednesday night to watch Hibs v Rangers. Martindale watched the game on his TV and the duo will also look at extensive, in-depth footage of the game before naming their team.
Martindale said: “We are covering all bases.”
Result have, so far, not gone for the West Lothian side and Martindale said: “We are thinking on our feet and we have been a wee bit unlucky in terms of goals we have lost late in games, I think that is four now.
“At this level, it is unforgiving. We would probably have got away with that in the Championship, but we have had a lot of injuries to contend with.”
The loss of Aussie-born defender, McGowan, he conceded had been tough and his squad are missing his “experience and leadership”. The long-serving manager added: “We are now a little bit light in terms of experience in that defensive area.
“It will be good to try to get Ryan back but I don’t think there is any one thing that you can point to, it is a variety of different things, injuries, missing the captain and some have not played at this level, some have and some haven’t.
“That is the Premiership, make a mistake and you get punished.”
Overall, he added: “I look at a lot of the data within the game and we are not a million miles away from where we would like to be as a group, but points have to reflect that.”
