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Friday 17th October 2014

Championship featured match

Livingston reached the Petrofac Training Cup final thanks to a penalty shoot-out win over Stranraer on Sunday but it is back to league business on Saturday as Hibernian come calling.

Livingston reached the Petrofac Training Cup final thanks to a penalty shoot-out win over Stranraer on Sunday but it is back to league business on Saturday as Hibernian come calling.

The Championship game at the Energy Assets Arena is live on BBC ALBA, with a 5.30pm kick-off and Livi go into the match four points below their fifth-placed visitors in the table.

Manager John McGlynn said: "It is great to have a cup final to look forward to but it is time to get our feet back on the ground. The league is our bread and butter - having only seven points from eight games is pretty disappointing but, to be fair, our performances have deserved more points.

"We have three big league games coming up, starting against Hibs then Falkirk and Queen of the South but every game in the Championship is difficult."

Cup success needs to be forgotten about until April, with McGlynn adding: "We want to start picking up points and climbing the table, as when the final comes around we want to be in a good position. There are a lot of games to be played and we want to be pushing ourselves forward.

"Raith Rovers and Queen of the South have 14 points and that is a good return for the first quarter. Hibs have 11, whereas Hearts have 25 and Rangers 16. They have a gap but with so many points still up for grabs there are play-offs places still available.

"We have a game in hand but if we can match what Raith and Queens have done in the next quarter then that will be a good step forward. We need to do that to get some impetus behind our league campaign."

The former Raith and Hearts boss arrived in West Lothian last autumn with the Lions at the foot of the Championship and he has made progress.

He said: “I have just completed my first anniversary as I started in mid-September. It has been a good year and a challenging year but all jobs are challenging. We are in a better position than 12 months ago when we were bottom of the league and there has been lots to be encouraged about.

"We have developed players to move on to full-time English football in Coll Donaldson, Stefan Scougall and Marc McNulty, which has brought in funds that have kept the club on the right track. It has been a step-by-step process to develop the rest of the squad to play football the way Livingston wants football to be played.

"We want to play fast and attacking football and, while things do not always come off, we will look to keep that going. We have given Michael McKenna a chance after he shone in the Juniors and we have given a bit of an unknown in Myles Hippolyte a chance as well.

"These players can make it at this level, if not a higher one, as they are getting a chance to show what they can do. Myles is on a learning curve just now and is showing his worth as an impact player but he can develop into a 90-minute team player."

Livi's visit from Hibs gives them the chance to avenge an opening-day defeat from the Edinburgh side when goalkeeper Mark Oxley scored one of the goals.

McGlynn said: “We lost 2-1 that day but we can take encouragement from the performance. We created opportunities and lost to a fluke goal before hitting the bar.

"Hibs have been a bit inconsistent so if they are not on top form we should be looking to ensure that we use home advantage to good effect.”

Craig Stewart