Former Celtic, Chelsea and Scotland full-back Davie Hay was in charge of Livingston for their one League Cup glory year back in 2004 but admits he has split loyalties today.

"It didn't work out for me when I was St Mirren manager, but it was my boyhood team, so I have a bit of an affinity with the team," he tells BBC Scotland.

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St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin makes two changes from the side that lost 1-0 away to St Johnstone in the Premiership last weekend.

In come winger Ethan Erhahon and on-loan Coventry City left-back Brandon Mason, with striker Lee Erwin dropping to the bench and wide man Jake Doyle-Hayes missing out through injury.

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Livingston's David Martindale wasn't sure he would like the limelight after stepping up as manager but believes he is finding his feet.

"I just feel like I want to get to a final because nobody remembers semi-final losers," he tells BBC Radio Scotland.

"We look for a collective effort from the players. I think it is going to be a real tough game. I think Jim might have changed his shape today.

"Form goes out the window, but I have told the boys that, whatever happens today, I am going to shake every one of your hand as you have been absolutely magnificent for me."

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St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin tells BBC Scotland Sportsound. "The club doesn't get to many cup finals, so I've been trying to explain to the players that this is an incredible opportunity for them.

"The emotional side of it in a game of this importance is massive in how the players manage it. The nerves and butterflies they're feeling is normal. It's important they don't allow that to get the better of them and clam up.

"To have beaten Aberdeen and Rangers to get his far, it would be tragic if we don't go all the way."

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Neil McCann
Former Hearts & Rangers winger on BBC Sportsound

Steven Thompson
Former Scotland striker on BBC Sportsound

Livingston: Stryjek, Devlin, Ambrose, Guthrie, Serrano, Bartley, Holt, Sibbald, Pittman, Mullin, Robinson.

Substitutes: McCrorie, McMillan, Longridge, Fitzwater, Lawson, Forrest, Kabia, Emmanuel-Thomas, Reilly.

St Mirren: Alnwick, Tait, Mason, Shaughnessy, McCarthy, MacPherson, McGrath, Connolly, Fraser, Erhahon, Brophy.

Substitutes: Lyness, Finlayson, Flynn, Foley, McAllister, Durmus, Dennis, Erwin, Obika.

"Having won the cup as captain, if he was to do it again as manager, it would be statue outside the stadium material."

So says former Scotland striker Steven Thompson about St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin, who he played beside when the Paisley side beat Hearts 3-2 to lift the League Cup in 2013.

Read more.

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Everyone in Scotland probably knows by now the background to Livingston manager David Martindale and his stint behind bars before "turning my life around".

He spoke to Football Focus about next week's Scottish FA hearing, which he hopes will finally rule that he is a "fit and proper" person to manage a football club.

However, he also spoke about his side's unbeaten run since he took over from Gary Holt and that the "tough times" in his life mean he remains "level-headed" about the prospect of reaching the final.

"I don't think I've done anything differently," he said. "We weren't playing bad, we weren't in a bad place, we still had the positivity, we still had the players.

"I just think that maybe even Gary resigning maybe hit home to the players that everybody needs to give more. Personally, I don't think I've come in and done anything different."

Read more here.

You know the drill: get in touch via Twitter@bbcsportscot to offer your pearls of wisdom ahead of today's League Cup semi-final action.

The most attention grabbing headline in the Sunday papers was the claim in the Sunday Mirror that Rafael Benitez was poised to replace Neil Lennon as Celtic manager after leaving Chinese Super League club Dalian Professional.

However, Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has told BBC Sport that the reigning Scottish champions had expressed an interest but that the 60-year-old former Liverpool and Newcastle United boss is going to "rest a bit" before deciding his next move.

Read more.

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Having already signed two strikers during January, St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin is reportedly turning his attention to adding competition at left-back for Richard Tait and Coventry City's Brandon Mason, who has been injured recently.

A report in the Sunday Mail suggests the Paisley club have bid to take Jaden Brown on loan from Huddersfield Town. The 21-year-old former Tottenham Hotspur trainee has made all but two of his nine appearances for the Championship side this season from the bench.

You can read more gossip from the Sunday newspapers by clicking the link below.

Read more.

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Hibs head coach Jack Ross has expressed his anger after his side lost their second semi-final since the summer, having lost to Hearts in the delayed semi-final of last season's Scottish Cup.

In a tetchy post match interview after yesterday's defeat by St Johnstone, he suggested "we've thumbed our nose at the opportunity to get to a final" and that his players had played "meekly" at Hampden.

Read more.

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Yesterday's first semi-final produced a surprise result - not for the fact that St Johnstone beat Hibs but by ease at which they did so.

With Celtic and Rangers having failed to reach the semi-finals, the Edinburgh side had become competition favourites, but goals from Jason Kerr, Shaun Rooney and Craig Conway ended their hopes.

Not surprisingly, Saints manager Callum Davidson suggested that, without the presence of the Old Firm, they will have not had a better chance of lifting the trophy for the first time.

Read more.

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The build-up to this afternoon's unusual four o'clock kick-off has already begun on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound.

Joining host Jane Lewis are former Scotland internationals Neil McCann and Steven Thompson, while two managers who helped today's protagonists lift the League Cup - former St Mirren boss Danny Lennon and ex-Livingston man Davie Hay - have just been recalling their successes.

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Welcome to round two of Scottish League Cup semi-final weekend.

St Johnstone await the winners after a surprisingly easy win over Hibernian.

Like Hibs yesterday, Livingston head to Hampden as favourites - in their case having the best form of any top-flight side bar leaders Rangers.

Can St Mirren end David Martindale's unbeaten run as Livingston manager and reach the final on 28 February?

Stay with us for the build-up, live commentary and post-match reaction.

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