Livingston

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Livingston manager David Martindale feels Sunday's opponents Aberdeen are in a "false position" in the top flight.

Jimmy Thelin's side are eighth in the table, six points above Livingston at the bottom before Sunday's trip to the Home of the Set Fare Arena.

Despite a tricky start for the Dons, who failed to score in their first seven league matches, they've picked up four wins in their last six.

"I've never felt Aberdeen have been as bad as their league position suggests," Martindale said.

"I think they're a good team, I've watched them, I've played against them. And even the first half up at Pittodrie [a 0-0 draw in September], I thought they were very, very good against us so I think they're in a wee bit of a false position.

"I rate them as a group. Hopefully we can use the fact they had a game on Thursday to our advantage on Sunday, but it's not going to be an easy game.

"If you were to sit here and ask, 'do you think Aberdeen will finish in the top six come the end of the season?', I'd probably say 'yes'."

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Livingston welcome back Joshua Brenet following his World Cup exploits with Curacao, while Connor McLennan is back in contention and Cammy Kerr (ankle) is closing in on a return.

Mo Sylla is set to join Aidan Denholm and Shane Blaney (both hamstring) and Adam Montgomery (calf) on the sidelines.

Aberdeen remain without Kristers Tobers (knee).

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• Livingston are unbeaten in four home league games against Aberdeen (W2 D2) since a 2-1 reverse in August 2021. Both of their past two at home to the Dons, though, have finished 0-0.

• Aberdeen are unbeaten in six league meetings with Livingston (W3 D3) since a 2-1 defeat in November 2022.

• Should Livingston lose, they will be the first side to earn eight or fewer points from their first 14 games of a Scottish Premiership season since Hamilton in 2020-21 (eight). Six of the past eight sides to have eight or fewer points from their first 14 matches went on to be relegated.

• Aberdeen have won four of their past six league games (D1 L1), more than their previous 17 beforehand (W3 D4 L10).

• Aberdeen are winless in 10 away league games against newly-promoted opponents (D3 L7) since a 3-1 win over Ross County in November 2019. The Dons have lost their past four away league games to promoted clubs in a row.

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The error that led to Livingston being denied a crucial penalty in last weekend's 2-1 defeat by Rangers has been confirmed by the Scottish FA's key match incident panel.

Livingston manager David Martindale had already revealed that VAR referee John Beaton had phoned him to apologise for not advising match official Ross Hardie to review the footage.

Now the independent KMI panel has unanimously agreed that the on-field decision was incorrect, that VAR should have intervened to recommend a review, and that a penalty kick should have been awarded for handball.

Livingston striker Teti Yengi's shot struck the arm of Rangers centre-half Emmanuel Fernandez on its way to goal when the score was 1-1 at Ibrox.

However, the KMI panel unanimously agreed that referee Hardie had been incorrect to disallow Mohamed Diomande's late winner for Rangers for offside in the same game - and that VAR was correct in intervene, with the goal standing.

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David Martindale believes bottom club Livingston are now "much better equipped" to avoid the drop than when they were relegated two seasons ago.

Livi, who host Aberdeen on Sunday, are winless in 12 games in all competitions but Martindale is remaining upbeat despite his side sitting a point adrift at the foot of the table.

"100 per cent, the club's much better equipped, not just the team, the club," he said.

"The club's in a much, much better place, and I can only sit here from a position of positivity.

"If you'd sat here with me two years ago, you could see the pressure and the stress I was under and how difficult the job actually was.

"I don't feel that now, I feel supported from above, and I believe in what we've got in the changing room, I believe in what we've got.

"Do I believe, as a club, we're going in the right direction? Yep, I do.

"I'm fairly pleased with where we are as a group, not accepting where we are in the league position – I'm not happy about that – but there's a lot more positives within this season than negatives."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Manager David Martindale says John Beaton phoned him to apologise for Livingston incorrectly being denied a penalty in the 2-1 defeat to Rangers last weekend.

Beaton was the VAR at Ibrox but neglected to advise match official Ross Hardie to review the footage after Livingston striker Teti Yengi's shot struck the arm of Emmanuel Fernandez when the score was 1-1.

Livingston chairman Calvin Ford said on Wednesday the Scottish FA had admitted it was a mistake not to award a spot-kick.

And Martindale said: "I think it was a high level discussion at the club. John phoned me personally. Good discussion. I've not got a problem with it, honestly. It's an honest mistake.

"That's where we were. We move on. There's no use me sitting here talking about it any more because I'm not going to use any of my time and energy on a decision that ruined what should have been a half-decent weekend for the club and the players."

Martindale also called for officials in the Scottish Premiership and Championship to be made full-time over the next few years to improve the standard.

He said: "I think we've got to get to a place where officials for at least the two top leagues are full-time, whether that's a bank of 14, 16, 24 officials.

"For me, the only way forward would be are you going to be better at your job if that's your only job? Are you going to be better at your job if you're putting more hours into your job? I feel that's the only avenue open now.

"I don't think this is a refereeing problem. I think this is a Scottish football problem. And it's not something we can push to the side and say the referees need to deal with that. I don't think that's fair.

"I think as a collective, SPFL, SFA and the clubs, we need to find a better solution to use the technology better, and I think the only way to do that would realistically be full-time referees for the top two leagues."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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David Martindale has been speaking to the media before Livingston's home match against Aberdeen on Sunday.

Here are the main points from his press conference:

• Martindale revealed referee John Beaton phoned him to apologise for not awarding Livingston a penalty in their defeat to Rangers at Ibrox.

• The Livi boss says they will "move on" from the decision but wants to see full-time referees introduced to the league over the next few years.

• He adds: "If you've got two jobs, and being a referee's not your primary job, are you going to be able to do it to the best of your ability?"

• He also suggested having former professional footballers in the VAR room could help in making decisions quicker and easier.

• Martindale is expecting a tough game against Aberdeen and says they are a "better team" than their league position suggests.

• There are no fresh injury concerns for Livi.

Stuart Barrie
Fan writer

Another defeat but one we can take lots of positives from.

Taking a point at Ibrox is a very rare thing for us and so is getting a penalty. There is no dodging it, we were denied a clear and obvious spot-kick.

The handball was obvious in real time so I have no idea why VAR didn't get involved.

David Martindale was right to call it out after the game, but it will change nothing. Midweek apologies are useless.

One of the things I enjoyed most when we played in the Championship was the absence of VAR.

You knew to celebrate if it was a goal, you knew that if the referee didn't see something then the game played on and there was no endless dissecting of decisions. Life was simpler and dare I say better.

We do have it in the top flight but it seems it operates at different levels for different teams.

Performance wise we played well at Ibrox. We prevented Rangers having it all their own way and even mounted a few good attacks.

It wasn't our usual two banks of five, we had a go and gave Rangers problems. We can go into this weekend's game against Aberdeen with confidence and strong hope of three much-needed points.

Livingston assistant manager Marvin Bartley believes his side were denied a blatant penalty for hand ball in their defeat by Rangers but says he was told that VAR John Beaton decided centre-half Emmanuel Fernandez "was in close proximity to the ball when it was struck" and "there was nothing to be reviewed". (Daily Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Watch the Sportscene panel analyse Livingston's penalty claim for handball in their 2-1 defeat to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

Watch all the highlights from Rangers' 2-1 victory over Livingston in the Scottish Premiership.

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Livi fans, we asked for your views on the 2-1 defeat to Rangers.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Ian: Will Rangers be releasing a statement asking why Livingston never got a clear penalty or is it only an injustice when it goes against them?

William: What is the purpose of VAR? I see no mass hysteria about referee SFA conspiracies this time as it was in Rangers' favour.

Eddie: Livingston should have been awarded a penalty and the VAR team should have asked the referee to go to the monitor in real time. It's a difficult one for the ref but that's what VAR is for to give the opportunity to review it.

Malky: It's a penalty. We know it's not a blatant hand ball BUT Livi are denied a goal scoring opportunity and that means a penalty must be given.

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Livingston manager David Martindale tells BBC Scotland: "I think it's a clear, clear penalty. For the life of me, I don't understand how it's not given.

"We can depend the second goal better. We've got to take a bit of responsibility for that, but I don't know where to go with the handball decision.

"It's a shot on target, hits Fernandez's arm and we get told it's not a penalty.

"I probably won't phone Willie because by tomorrow, I'll have just went 'what's the point?'

"I'd like Willie to phone me and explain that one. The technology isn't getting used properly.

"I would argue it's not in a natural position, he makes a movement towards the ball and it's on target. I know if that's at Livingston against us, it's a penalty against us.

"When we're spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on technology to get big decisions right, it's disappointing.

"I'm not going to sit here and batter officials and batter VAR, I just don't understand.

"Defensively, we were fairly comfortable. The first goal, you take that one on the chin. Good delivery and the height of him, it's difficult to defend.

"When I look at the overall stats, I think we have the best chance - there's a lot to like in the performance, but we need to start [winning].

"The team should take a lot of heart from that. I think we'll be OK, I really do."

Rangers earned a fourth successive Scottish Premiership win under head coach Danny Rohl, taking the points in controversial fashion to extend Livingston's long winless league run to 11 games.

Read the match report.

Have your say.

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Rangers' John Souttar, Derek Cornelius and Mikey Moore could be out for the rest of the year with muscle injuries.

Youngster Bailey Rice has undergone surgery, while Youssef Chermiti and Liam Kelly are doubts.

Findlay Curtis is back after a small injury. Rabbi Matondo (knee), Dujon Sterling (Achilles) and Kieran Dowell (foot) are closing in on comebacks.

Livingston are without Joshua Brenet following his World Cup exploits with Curacao.

Connor McLennan and Scott Pittman are both back in contention, while Ryan McGowan, Cammy Kerr (ankle) and Adam Montgomery (calf) are also edging closer to a return. Aidan Denholm and Shane Blaney (both hamstring) are still out.

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Danny Wilson says he wants his Livingston side to start putting points on the board "sooner rather than later" as they prepare for Sunday's trip to Rangers.

Livi currently sit bottom of the Premiership table, one point behind Dundee above them, but travel to Ibrox following back-to-back draws against Hibernian and Falkirk.

Defender Wilson insists those draws need to turn into victories to "justify the work" that David Martindale's squad are doing.

"Any time going there is difficult regardless of what their form is at that time," Wilson said.

"It's going to be a difficult one for us, we picked up a couple of draws in the last two games from being behind so that gives us a lot of confidence going into the game.

"At the end of the day you can't argue with the league table, so we have to put the points on the board and I would be hoping to do so sooner rather than later.

"We don't want to get ourselves too detached from where we are. We're still at the bottom but within a couple of points of a few teams.

"The sooner we can put some points on the board, the better and the feeling will be better. It will really lend to that feeling that we're not quite where we should be in terms of the points.

"If we can put the points on the board then I think it will justify the work that we're doing."

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Livingston boss David Martindale has thanked Steve Clarke and his players for giving the next generation of Scotland supporters the chance to make a lifetime of memories following the national team to a World Cup like he did in 1998.

The 51-year-old was 23 when he travelled to France with friends to watch Craig Brown's team face Brazil, Norway and Morocco.

The Lions manager is delighted the 28-year wait for a return to the World Cup is over after the Scots topped their qualifying section with a dramatic 4-2 win over Denmark on Tuesday.

"It was unbelievable," said Martindale.

"Steve Clarke, all his staff and all his players should take massive, massive credit.

"That's three tournaments Steve's taken us to and a first World Cup. I think I speak for everybody in thanking the Scottish players, the Scottish staff.

"I think the Scottish FA has got to take a lot of credit as well. It's easy to forget about them but Ian Maxwell was the guy that appointed Steve Clarke.

"I think the full Scottish set-up, every one of them should take massive, massive credit. They're going to create memories for Scottish football fans that will last a lifetime.

"I was at the last one, France 98, and I can still remember that very, very vividly, the people I travelled with, the people I socialised with, the games. It was an unbelievable experience."

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• Rangers have never lost in 25 home games against Livingston in all competitions (W22 D3); it's the most they have faced a side at home without ever losing.

• Livingston have lost 20 of their past 22 meetings with Rangers in all competitions (D2) since a 1-0 league victory in September 2018.

• Rangers are unbeaten in 30 Scottish Premiership games against newly-promoted opponents (W26 D4), although their last defeat was to Livingston in September 2018 (1-0). At home, the Ibrox side have won 13 of their past 15 league games against promoted sides (D2) since a 2-1 defeat to Hibernian in February 2018.

• Rangers boss Danny Rohl has won his first three Premiership matches in charge. Of Rangers' past four permanent managers, (Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale, Philippe Clement and Russell Martin) only Rohl's predecessor Martin failed to win all of his first four league matches.

• Livingston have won just one of their 12 league matches this season (D5 L6), the fewest of any team in the top flight and their second-fewest victories at this stage of a top-flight season in their history, ahead of only 2005-06 (0).

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Livingston manager David Martindale has told Joshua Brenet to soak up Curacao's World Cup celebrations rather than rushing back for Saturday's visit to Rangers.

The Caribbean island, with a population of just over 150,000, is the smallest nation to ever qualify following Tuesday's 0-0 draw in Jamaica.

And Martindale is thrilled for the 31-year-old full-back, who moved to West Lothian in October.

"He'll come back to me, probably highly motivated to make sure he does well to get picked for the national team, so it's going to stand us in good stead as well," he said.

"Chipper and Marv [assistants Brian Rice and Marvin Bartley] had stayed up and watched the Jamaica-Curacao game, but I was sleeping by that point, because it was a one o'clock in the morning kick-off our time.

"But I woke up this morning and checked the result, so it was two really, really good bits of news [following Scotland's qualification]."

Brenet was an unused substitute in Jamaica but has started the past three games for Livingston.

Asked if the defender would be back in time for the trip to Ibrox, Martindale said: "No. The flights back were always going to be tight anyway.

"Curacao are throwing a massive celebration for all the players and their families. He said he was happy to miss it if I wanted him back on Friday, but I said, 'Look, go and enjoy it'.

"So I gave him a couple of extra days and said, 'Go and enjoy yourself, go and enjoy your moment and we'll see you next week'."