Livingston 0-1 St Mirren: Holt questions players' commitment

Gary Holt will assess whether he is "good enough" to continue as Livingston head coach after admitting defeat by St Mirren leaves his side in a Scottish Premiership relegation battle.

The hosts were the better side for large spells until Jake Doyle-Hayes' first St Mirren goal ended the visitors' eight-game winless run.

Defeat leaves Livingston 10th, just a point above St Mirren, and without victory in five league games.

"We are in a dogfight now," Holt said.

"It's baffling to stand here and say we've lost the game. I didn't see us losing. I've asked the players to go away and have a look at themselves.

"I'll look at myself tonight and decide whether what I'm doing is right or if it's good enough. If it's not, get someone else in."

• Reaction & as it happened

The home side could have found themselves a goal up early on as Jak Alnwick could only parry Alan Forrest's strike into the path of Jay Emmanuel-Thomas. However, the striker got his header all wrong before Sam Foley failed to direct a header of his own on target at the other end.

Emmanuel-Thomas had a close-range effort blocked superbly by Marcus Fraser, then fellow defender Richard Tait's header was saved comfortably by Max Stryjek in the Livingston goal.

The hosts continued to look the brighter side early in the second period as Forrest forced Alnwick down to his left to parry away a side-footed effort from the edge of the area.

However, it was the visitors who opened the scoring as Emmanuel-Thomas' headed clearance from a corner fell to Doyle-Hayes at the edge of the box. The former Aston Villa man connected well with his effort but a deflection off Marvin Bartley left Stryjek with no chance.

Livingston's attacking spark faded as St Miren comfortably saw out the remainder of the contest.

Man of the match - Jake Doyle-Hayes

The 21-year-old's effort in the middle of the park was terrific and, as well as grabbing the winner, no player matched his total of six interceptions

What did we learn?

Livingston were deservedly heaped with praise last season for their resilience at home, but so far this campaign they seem to be a soft touch at the Tony Macaroni Arena. That is now five home league defeats for Holt's side, who only lost four in the entirety of last season.

As for St Mirren, this was a gutsy success for Jim Goodwin's men. Regardless of Livingston's home form, it is still a tough venue and while the home side had the better of the game, the visitors could have easily crumbled considering the winless run they were on. That kind of mentality will be vital if they are to avoid the drop again.

What they said

Livingston head coach Gary Holt: "We limited them to very little but we lost the game. It's happening too often. We can't keep continuing with that much of a difference between this season and last.

"I put demands on myself to get the best out of the players. We might be hard to play against but If you cant defend your goal you are not going to have a chance in a game."

St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin: "It's fantastic to win and the players were outstanding. It's difficult to come here and play open, expansive football as they don't give you a second on the ball. The players managed the game brilliantly.

"Our results hadn't been good enough. We've hard a really hard time of it. It's been the most challenging season of my career. Hopefully we've had our fair share of bad luck. We're not getting carried away."

What's next?

Both sides take part in the last 16 of the Scottish League Cup next Saturday as Livingston welcome Ayr United at 15:00 GMT before St Mirren host Aberdeen at 17:15.