Livingston

David Martindale has been meeting the media ahead of his side's crunch home fixture against Ross County on Saturday.

Here are the key points from his press conference...

• His side are trying to "block out the external noise" and focus on themselves, a task made harder by social media and doing their jobs in the public eye.

• Admits that they "haven't helped themselves" despite not always having "the rub of the green", wants his players to stick together and "push in the same direction".

• This is the first time Livingston have been in a genuine relegation battle under his leadership, which he calls "a testament" to how the club have "punched above their weight" in recent years.

• Pundits tout his team for relegation at the start of every season and "one year they'll be right", but "we hope it's not this year".

• He always expected a tough season because of "huge losses last year and huge cuts this year".

• Ross County have had "a wee bounce" since the return of Derek Adams, who he calls "a very good manager".

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• Livingston have only lost one of their six Scottish Premiership home games against Ross County (W4 D1), after a 1-0 loss in October 2022.

• Ross County have only failed to score in one of their last 10 league meetings with Livingston (W2 D4 L4), a 2-0 defeat in January last season.

• Livingston have lost each of their last six league matches, their longest losing run in the top-flight since between December 2005 and April 2006 – a run of 13 consecutive defeats.

• Ross County have failed to win any of their last five away matches in the league (D3 L2), failing to score in three of those.

• Livingston have attempted 38 shots across their last five Premiership matches with just five of those being on target, failing to score a single goal during this run.

Sportscene presenter Steven Thompson has had his say on which Premiership side is struggling the most, and it's bad news for Livingston fans.

David Martindale's side sit bottom of the league, with just ten points from their 14 games.

"The one team who I would say, at this minute in time, really need something is Livingston," Thompson said on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"They've hit a really, really bad patch. They struggled at the weekend against St Mirren. The goal they conceded was an own goal, which is unlucky.

"They look devoid of confidence, they're on a dreadful run. The one thing that will keep them a wee bit buoyant is that when they look above them, Aberdeen are only three points above them.

"It's still very much open, and a very difficult league to call. You would expect that the bigger clubs with the bigger budgets and squads, will start to climb.

"The league table is fascinating in many ways, there's so little in it. There's been a lack of consistency from pretty much everyone in the league. Overall the season is proving to be very difficult to predict."

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Livingston host Ross County on Saturday in the Scottish Premiership, wanting to end their recent poor run of form and climb off the bottom of the table.

Put yourself in David Martindale’s shoes and pick your starting XI for the game here.

Stuart Barrie, Livingston fan

Most Livingston fans went into the game against St Mirren with the pessimistic view that we wouldn’t get anything. We’ve been poor in Paisley for as long as I remember and true to form we came away with nothing.

To be fair, I don’t think there was too much between the team in third and us at the bottom. It was a very tight game with few chances for both sides, but they took theirs and we didn’t, which is a bit like a broken record for us at the moment - we’ve now gone 584 minutes without scoring. We did hit the bar but otherwise didn’t really create anything of note. Bruce Anderson and Curtis Guthrie worked their socks off but were starved of service.

Lots of fans are worrying about how we can stay in the league. I’ve always maintained we’ll come good to avoid the drop, and I still think that will be the case. We have three homes games coming up, against Ross County, Hibs, and Kilmarnock, and our home form will play a major role in how our season turns out.

If we turn up and do the things we used to be famous for, things like closing down, tackling, harrying, non-stop running and creating chances, then we’ll be alright.

The club's fortunes on the pitch may be stuttering but off the pitch we are making huge wins. There’s another community ticket giveaway coming up with 2,000 tickets being given to local schools and clubs for our Premiership clash with Kilmarnock on 16 December. The club also hosted a kids Christmas party recently, with many of the players bringing their families along allowing so many kids to make memories.

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Stephen Couse, BBC Sport Scotland

Six defeats in a row. Five games without a goal. Bottom of the table.

It's been a tough month for Livingston.

Many of those games, including a tough matchup against third-placed St Mirren at the weekend, have been close-run affairs. Three of the last four losses have been by a single goal.

But perhaps the worrying aspect of the run is how little a threat Livi have been in front of goal.

It has been 584 minutes since they last scored - five whole games without finding the back of the net.

And in those five games they have registered a total of five shots on target.

Three consecutive home games coming up, against Ross County, Hibernian and Kilmarnock, is a good chance for the Lions to get the monkey off their back.

Livingston have been drawn against Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup fourth round.

The tie will take place at the Tony Macaroni Arena on the weekend of January 20/21.

• St Mirren have scored in 11 of their 13 Scottish Premiership games,. Only Celtic have scored in more matches this season

• Livingston have failed to score in their last five games in the Premiership, their longest run without scoring in the league since at least the 2013/14 season

• Livi have also gone 584 minutes without a goal

• The defeat to St Mirren is Livingston's sixth defeat in a row - their longest losing streak in the competition

Image source, .

Were you in Paisley on Saturday or following the match from home? Either way, want your views on the game – have your say here.

Livingston manager David Martindale: "I am not going to say St Mirren didn't deserve the three points because at the end of the day they put the ball in the net and we didn't but it is fine margins.

"We hit the bar in the first half, so did they. Are we unlucky not to take something from the game? I am not going to use luck as an excuse.

"I thought the defensive shape for the first half was a wee bit open. I do not think we transitioned well as a back three. We have got to do a wee bit better on and off the ball but there was not anything major.

"We need to start finding a way to win games of football. Ultimately it falls to me and I am well aware of that.

"I thought we let ourselves down in doing the fundamentals of the game in the first half. In the second half we didn't cause enough problems in their box.

"This is not an abnormal situation I find myself in. We have been through it every season in the league we are just hitting it at the start of the season which feels a bit worse.

"St Mirren are third in the league, are fight is not going to be with them this season. We have a huge game next week.

"This year I think we are in a genuine relegation battle. From matchday five onwards it has been a wee bit chaotic and as a group we are not doing the basics well enough and that is what I am going to have to get right."

Martin Dowden, BBC Sport Scotland at SMiSA Stadium

Livingston badly need something to go in their favour. Six defeats on the trot has been extremely damaging and while they remain in touch with teams above, they can ill-afford that run being extended.

They struggled to make much impact in the final third throughout, save for Nottingham’s header from a set piece.

Scoring goals has been a real struggle. It may come but it was difficult to see where from on this evidence given their overall lack of threat where it counts.

David Martindale makes three changes to his side that lost 2-0 to Rangers.

Cristian Montano, Luiyi de Lucas and Mohammed Sangare drop out of the team to face St Mirren. Jason Holt, Michael Nottingham and Kurtis Guthrie start.

Livingston: George, Devlin, Nottingham, Penrice, Kelly, Pittman, Holt, Shinnie, Guthrie, Nouble, Anderson

Substitutes: Hamilton, Parkes, Kelly, Brandon, Welch-Hayes, BRadley, Sangare, de Lucas, Lloyd

• Follow the action live

St Mirren wing-back Ryan Strain could be out for weeks with a groin strain picked up on international duty with Australia, but fit-again striker Jonah Ayunga returns to the squad after being out since January.

Midfielder Keanu Baccus is suspended.

Livingston defender Michael Nottingham returns to the squad after enjoying two productive training weeks following a long-term run of injury troubles.

Ayo Obileye is fit again but Cristian Montano is doubtful with a hamstring issue.

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Bruce Anderson insists that Livingston can turn their season around and climb up the league table from the bottom.

The 25-year-old forward says that the "margins are so fine" in the Scottish Premiership, as his team sit just seven points off fourth.

"The strength comes from the team, there are no individuals here, when you go through a run like this it's important we all stick together," Anderson said.

"This is where you roll the sleeves up and work even harder.

"Just a couple more wins and we'll be right up there and for us it's just about trying to put a run together and start picking up points as soon as possible.

"St Mirren have been really good this season, they've picked up a lot of points and they're in a good position in the league.

"We know how hard it'll be, it's always difficult go there, I don't think I've ever had an easy game going there, so for us it's just about looking after ourselves, working hard and hopefully the three points comes with it."

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• St Mirren remain unbeaten in 11 league meetings with Livingston (W5 D6) since a 1-2 defeat in February 2020.

• Since winning their first ever top-flight visit to St Mirren 2-0 in August 2018, Livingston have failed to win their last eight Scottish Premiership trips to Paisley (D4 L4).

• St Mirren have lost three of their last five league games (W1 D1), more than their previous 11 beforehand (W4 D5 L2).

• Livingston have lost each of their last five league games; not since a run of 13 from December 2005 to April 2006 have they lost more in a row in the top-flight.

• Only Celtic (18) and Rangers (12) have scored more home goals than St Mirren this season (11), with the Buddies averaging 1.8 home goals per game this term.

"There's been no conversation about us going back to grass," says Livingston chief executive Dave Black, who explains it would not be cost effective to rip up the synthetic pitch and find somewhere else to train. (Daily Mail, external - subscription required)

Read the rest of Thursday's Scottish gossip.

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