Livingston

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"It would be stupid" to write off Tony Bloom's hopes of Hearts winning the Scottish Premiership title in the next 10 years, says Livingston manager David Martindale.

The Brighton owner recently completed a deal to take a 29% stake in the Edinburgh club and has since shared his ambition to finish "at least second" in the Scottish top flight this term and achieve top spot within a decade.

Glasgow sides Rangers and Celtic have won every top-tier title between them since Sir Alex Ferguson's triumph with Aberdeen in 1985.

But Martindale has no doubt Bloom is capable of achieving big things with Hearts.

"I think he's given himself a lot of wiggle room by saying 10 years," he said.

"But do I believe that they can achieve that? It would be a stupid man that would bet against it.

"If I was a betting man, I would put my money on Tony Bloom achieving what he said he's wanting to achieve rather than saying he's talking ludicrous.

"I'd definitely put my chips behind him because I think he's shown he can do it."

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Livingston came from behind to snatch a point against Kilmarnock in their first game back in the Premiership, and they have one player in my team of the week.

Feels like Scott Pittman has been around forever and has always been such an important player for Livingston as he proved once again with the equaliser against Kilmarnock.

Stuart Barrie
Fan writer

It's almost a cliché now but the day or so before the season kicks off proper it is a bit like Christmas eve.

There's excitement, hope, expectation and wondering about what the surprises may be. The League Cup games have been decent and each week you could see the fitness, team bonding and general play improve but that was only a starter for the big one. The league campaign.

This season I notice we are not universally tipped to be relegated. The pundits have given us a bit of a chance this campaign.

We've thrived on being the underdog that proves a point previously so this is unusual territory. It is slightly concerning actually if we are tipped to stay up – what's going to motivate us to prove everyone wrong? Again.

Maybe the pundits have actually noticed the good football we played last year, the experience and skillset of the manager and the very decent signings we have made. That doesn't always guarantee success of course. That all needs to come together and gel. Against Killie in the season opener it all came together really well.

We'll skip over the mistakes that put us 0-2, accept at this level you get punished for these every time, and focus on the second half fightback. That had everything I like about Davie Martindales' teams. There was effort, endeavour and determination.

Of course, the penalty and sending off changed the game but I am convinced we would have got something anyway from the way we went at Killie. That second half effort showed me this team has the hallmark of a good Livi team who give their all.

This game made me agree with the pundits for once about Livi staying up and we also had very pleasant few hours at the top of the league. Which of course felt like Christmas day!

Watch Sportscene analysis of Scott Pittman's goal and Livingston's performance in their 2-2 draw against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership.

Watch highlights of Kilmarnock's 2-2 draw against Livingston in the Scottish Premiership.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Adam Montgomery says the resilience Livingston showed in their fightback to earn a point at Kilmarnock will stand them in good stead on their return to the Premiership.

Livi rallied from 2-0 down to level the game late on with a goal from Scott Pittman.

"This squad last year had a lot of resilience," Montgomery told BBC Scotland.

"They went on and got promoted after not winning the league. That shows you what the squad is about and I think that's been shown again."

Montgomery, on-loan from Celtic, says Livi will be different from the physical, defensive side they were during their previous time in the top flight.

"I think we've got plenty of good players that want to play football," the full-back said.

"There's maybe been a brand of Livingston not wanting to play football, defensive, but we do have that part of the game also. We want to really try and play some good football.

"It's been very enjoyable. When I first spoke to the gaffer, he said that he wanted an attacking full-back and thought that I fitted that role perfectly. So I'm really enjoying it."

We asked for your views on Livingston's 2-2 draw against Kilmarnock.

Here's what some of you said:

David: We will surprise some people. A lot of fans of other sides have us finishing 12th. I think, or is it really hope, that we will get a top-six finish. That may very well be sixth, but I would love to see a top-five finish and a chance for Europe.

Ollie: Robbie Muirhead will be key for us this season up top but so will Jerome Prior at the other other end of the pitch along with Danny Wilson and Ryan McGowan but for me Graham Carey will be our surprise package this season, he's very creative.

David: Livingston have a great team. We have some belief and that point will give us more. We may be a small team but we are as proud of our team as any other side in the division. Look at the stats - for an away game it was tremendous.

Kyle: A game Livi should have won, but Killie managed to score two quick goals.

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Livingston boss David Martindale told BBC Scotland: "I'm happy to come out with the point. We were a wee bit unfortunate not to come out with the win, but we're architects of our own downfall going in at 2-0 down.

"That felt a bit harsh, but we've only got ourselves to blame. They were two really poor goals to lose. That was the only two shots on target.

"I spoke to the players about that - that's the difference between the Championship and the Premiership. We'd have gone in at 0-0 in the Championship, gotten away with those mistakes.

"We changed the shape, flipped to a 3-5-2. That gets us the penalty, the red card, the opportunities open up. We changed the shape back to a 4-3-3, brought [Lewis] Smith on, and the overloads were in our favour. That's where we got the second goal from.

"You've got to give Kilmarnock credit for defending the area, they did that really well.

"The players have to take huge credit, they showed real resilience. The subs really helped the game. It was something we had in abundance last year so it's nice to see it transitioning into this year. The character the players showed was exactly what you want as a manager."

Livingston marked their return to the Scottish Premiership by coming back from two goals down to earn a draw against 10-man Kilmarnock.

Let us know your thoughts on the game here.

Read the full match report here.

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Kilmarnock manager Stuart Kettlewell revealed he had lost two unnamed players to injury in training this week. Jack Thomson is back training but not ready to feature.

Livingston striker Jeremy Bokila is pushing for his debut but Aidan Denholm faces a scan on a hamstring injury.

Connor McLennan and Cristian Montano are not far off fitness while Cammy Kerr faces a lengthy spell of rehab.

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Ryan McGowan insists Livingston can replicate their attacking Championship form in the top flight.

David Martindale's men start life back in the Premiership against Kilmarnock on Saturday and defender McGowan thinks opposition fans might be surprised by Livi's style this season.

"The gaffer said it publicly before, sometimes when you're in the top flight it's just more survival and worrying about what other teams are going to do to you instead of possibly what you can do to hurt them and get points," said McGowan.

"That's what we did as a club last season. It was kind of a reset and we controlled most of the ball. We played pretty good football for probably 90% of the season last year and that's something we want to take into this season.

"If you've watched our cup games so far, it will probably be a little bit of a different Livingston to what was in the Premiership in years gone by.

"It's up to us as players to really put to work what we're doing during the week into games and hopefully that gets us points and gets us up the league.

"We play a different kind of style from the team that got relegated a couple of seasons ago, but it's one that we believe we will be successful with and fingers crossed that happens."

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• Kilmarnock have won three of their past four top-fight matches against Livingston (D1), as many as their previous 11 beforehand (W3 D1 L7).

• Livingston have lost eight of their past 10 top-fight away games at Kilmarnock (W2), including each of their last three in a row.

• Kilmarnock have won on matchday one in just two of their past 14 top-fight seasons (D4 L8), although both were home wins (2-0 v St Johnstone in 2018-19 and 1-0 v Rangers in 2023-24).

• Since 2011-12, only two of 18 newly-promoted sides have lost on the opening of a Scottish top-fight season (W5 D11), although the last of those was Livingston in 2018-19, who lost 3-1 to Celtic (also Hamilton losing 2-0 to Inverness CT in 2014-15).

• Livingston haven't won on matchday one of a top-fight campaign since 2004-05 (3-0 v Inverness CT), failing in seven attempts since (D2 L5).

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The "passion and desire" of Scottish football helped Livingston sign DR Congo Jeremy Bokila despite more lucrative offers in the Dutch Eredivisie, says manager David Martindale.

Bokila, 36, is set for a debut in Saturday's Premiership opener at Kilmarnock after moving from top-flight club Willem II.

Having previously turned out in Belgium, Romania, Turkey, Russia, China and the United States, Bokila was keen to try his hand in Scotland.

Martindale said: "Jeremy had offers to stay in the top tier of Holland, but he wanted a new challenge.

"He's 36 years old, he's played the top tier over there, he's played top tier a few countries.

"He was aware of Scottish football and the passion surrounding Scottish football.

"So it definitely wasn't a financial decision for Jeremy because he would have had better offers, but it was just that new experience for him coming to the latter stages of his career.

"He wants to go and try something different and the passion and desire of Scottish football attracted him to Scotland.

"I just think the passion within Scottish football is phenomenal. We've got lower crowds but the atmosphere is still really, really vibrant.

"I've been to bigger stadiums over the years in different countries. There's maybe 20-25,000 but it's nowhere near the atmosphere that 5,000 Scottish football fans can make.

"I think per capita we're one of the best supported leagues in Europe, maybe the world. But that just shows you the passion is there."

Stuart Barrie
Fan writer

Where will you finish in the league and why?

Contrary to popular opinion I think we will finish ninth. We've signed well, our manager has the experience to get through a tough campaign, and above all we have a bit of momentum.

Who is the best signing or has he not signed yet and who should it be?

Macaulay Tait was in pole position for best signing but in the last few weeks we pinned Robbie Muirhead to a long-term deal, which is a brilliant move. I'm also very excited about Adam Montgomery, who has joined on loan from Celtic.

What do you want from your manager this season?

More of the same attacking football and sound game management that served us so well in the Championship. Really want to have a feelgood factor about the place - even when the going gets tough. He's the most successful Livi manager in my book and arguably the best, so in Davie we trust.

Who will be the breakout star in your squad?

He's not exactly a breakout but look out for goalkeeper Jerome Prior getting well-deserved recognition. We did really well to tie him down for a few years. Prior was excellent last season but still went under the radar a little. He'll be busier this season but he's got what it takes to play at an even bigger club.

What is your one major concern?

Scoring goals. We were rock solid defensively last season and would have had a bigger shout to win the league if we could have put the ball in the net more, particularly to turn draws into wins.

Muirhead's goals got us out of jail last season and he will be key again, but others need to pitch in as well. We've added a bit more height this season so set-pieces could be our way to get those goals.

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Livingston have announced the signing of striker Jeremy Bokila from Dutch side Willem II after receiving international clearance.

Bokila, 36, has played in the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, Russia, China, Turkey, Qatar and the USA during a long and varied career.

He has represented DR Congo on 20 occasions, scoring six goals.

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Livingston will host Hibernian in the second round of the League Cup.

Livi secured their spot as one of the best runners-up with a 6-0 thrashing of Kelty Hearts on Saturday.

Ties are due to be played on the weekend of 16th/17th August.

We asked for your views on Livingston's League Cup win.

Here is what some of you said:

Malky: Livi need to win and progress as far as possible in the cups this season to cement their ambitions.

Craig: As well as Livingston played, Kelty were pretty poor. Promising start for Adam Montgomery, and Robbie Muirhead looks as though he will be a handful in the Premiership. Midfield was solid with Mo Sylla a good addition. Hard graft starts next week at Rugby Park for what will be a challenging season back in the Premiership.

John: Livingston were superb today. Free-flowing football on their bowling green, state-of-the-art new pitch.

Del: Perfect.

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Livingston manager David Martindale reckons their new artificial surface is helping his side get up to speed in games quicker.

The West Lothian club's pitch was upgraded this summer to the 'newest version' of the surface.

Martindale's side secured their spot as one of the best runners-up with a 6-0 thrashing of Kelty Hearts, finishing second in Group H behind top-flight rivals Kilmarnock.

Two goals from Robbie Muirhead and others from Andy Winter, debutant Adam Montgomery, Stevie May and Shane Blaney ensured David Martindale's side a place in the draw for the next round.

"I thought the boys played really well," Martindale said.

"I think the surface is really, really helping us at getting our speed into the game, and we started the game really well.

"I thought Andy Winters was brilliant today, there wasn't anyone who wasn't getting pass marks today.

"We limited the opposition to very little."

Aidan Denholm, who signed a three-year deal from Hearts and made his Livingston debut off the bench, picked up an injury in the game, something his manager takes some responsibility for.

"I feel a wee bit sorry for Aidan, he's hurt his hamstring again," added Martindale.

"He was desperate to play. He's done a full pre-season with Hearts, and I was desperate to integrate him into the squad, so maybe I've got to take a wee bit of responsibility there.

"But I don't think it's anywhere near as bad as it's previously been. The wee man's gutted. You don't want to be coming into a club, make your debut and go off injured but it's football.

"We'll stick by him and make sure he's got a good group around him. That was the only disappointing aspect of the game."

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Livingston have signed Aidan Denholm from fellow top-flight club Hearts on a three-year deal.

The 21-year-old midfielder spent the start of last season on loan at Ross County, but his stay in Dingwall was cut short due to injury.

Denholm made his debut for Hearts in 2021, before loan moves to Berwick Rangers, East Fife, and County.

He is on the Livingston bench for their League Cup match with Kelty Hearts.

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Celtic defender Adam Montgomery has joined fellow Premiership side Livingston on a season-long loan.

The 23-year-old moves to the newly-promoted Lions having spent last term with Championship outfit Queen's Park, playing 14 games and scoring once.

Montgomery has made 20 appearances for Celtic but hasn't featured since December 2021, with a raft subsequent loan spells including Aberdeen and St Johnstone.