Livingston: Are David Martindale's men doomed to relegation?
- Published
Livingston were put to the sword by Hibernian on Saturday
In a long campaign of anguished days for Livingston, Saturday was one of the sorest.
"Painful day, painful season," remarked boss David Martindale.
Decimated by a sickness bug in midweek, they fetched up at inconsistent Hibs desperately chasing points. With seven minutes played, they were 2-0 down. By half-time, it was three.
"[The game was over in] seven-and-a-half minutes," Martindale told BBC Scotland. "Frustrating. Difficult., Disappointing. All those words."
To make matters worse, while Hibs were shredding the Lions in Leith, up in Dingwall, Ross County sprang a surprise on Hearts.
The Highlanders' triumph propelled them 10 points clear of Livingston at the foot of the Scottish Premiership.
With eight games remaining, is there a way to safety for Martindale's men?
Ugly numbers
Livingston have built their six-season stint in the top flight on defensive ruggedness, tactical organisation and a capacity to plunder points when the chips are down.
Despite a meagre budget, they have routinely upset the odds and confounded expectations, never finishing lower than ninth since winning remarkable back-to-back promotions in 2017 and 2018.
Last season, they wound up eighth despite failing to register a goal per game and conceding 60, placing 12 points clear of the bottom two.
Alarmingly, those numbers have worsened this term.
Livingston's inability to turn promising performances into points has dogged them brutally. They have failed to score in half of their 30 Premiership matches and shipped an eye-watering 52 goals.
That has contributed to a paltry return of three league wins and the precarious spot in which they now find themselves.
What does the run-in bring?
The bad news for Livingston is the first of their three remaining pre-split matches is against Celtic. The good news is, it's at home, and Livingston gave the champions a fright in last week's Scottish Cup quarter-final.
Next up, they tackle Aberdeen in West Lothian, the Dons themselves battling to avoid being sucked into the play-off position.
Then it's third-placed Hearts at Tynecastle - where Livingston have not won since 2002.
County, their nearest rivals, also face Aberdeen, albeit at Pittodrie, before travelling to Europe-chasing Kilmarnock and hosting Rangers.
Points will be precious and likely at a premium.
'I'm not getting out of bed to be relegated'
Martindale refused to cite the midweek illness as a reason for his team's disastrous start at Easter Road.
"I don't want to look for an out," he said. "I take the blame. Me. I'm the leader of this club.
"The flu ravaged the club, there were probably two or three players on the park who ideally wouldn't be playing.
"Two are going through Ramadan, it's hard on energy levels, but you're eight minutes into the game [and 2-0 down] and I don't think it's got anything to do with Ramadan or the flu."
The Livingston boss has given a series of defiant interviews this season and retains belief his team can haul themselves off the canvas.
"I'm not going into my work to get relegated," he said. "I'm not getting out my bed in the morning to be relegated.
"I'm going in to win the next game of football for Livingston and see where it takes me. I'm not trying to put false positivity across, but that's all I can focus on.
"People have had us down for the last six years. If we go down, we'll go down fighting and we'll try and come back up.
"This shouldn't be a shock to everyone, a club of Livingston's size, we're favourites for relegation every year but that doesn't mean we're going to accept it."
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