Livingston skipper Ryan McGowan could miss the club’s home clash with Rangers in the William Hill Premiership on Sunday (kick-off 15.00).
And boss David Martindale (pictured) has other injury worries ahead of the clash at the Home of the Set Fare Arena.
McGowan and goalkeeper Jerome Prior are “fundamental”, he said, to the club nicknamed The Lions, but Martindale promised fans that his men will “have a go” against the under-pressure Govan side.
He also wants to capitalise on Rangers lack of preparation time following the Glasgow outfit’s European game on Thursday and he is determined to use that to his advantage.
Martindale told a media briefing that he was disappointed in losing 3-2 at Dundee last Saturday, after battling back to level at 2-2, following a controversial late penalty award.
He said: “We are really disappointed (at losing at Dens Park). We paper over the cracks and try to look for the positives, but there are not a lot of positives in there, if I am honest.
“A last minute goal against Hearts and a last minute goal on Saturday, two points and we would have been sitting third in the league close of play at 5pm on Saturday.”
Martindale was not pleased with the overall play of his men at Dens Park and declared: “Up until the second goal I was really disappointed as a group, myself included.
“We dominated possession and never did anything with it, a wee bit passive, and the two goals we lost were really poor. We touched on that in training. It was not like us.”
The Livi boss said he was not making excuses, but the loss of McGowan, who reported unwell 24-hours before the game, was a big blow and he did not have any real time to work on a replacement.
Shane Blaney stepped in, a man who has not played a full 90 minutes since early February, and he added: “It is hard to get a like-for-like starting eleven in every position, if I am honest.”
The straight-talking manager, looking ahead to the visit of Russell Martin’s men, added: “Defence is key every game, that is not what I am really focused on. All over the park we need to be really good, we have to be really strong. We have to be at the top of our game.
“I do not really care what team it is coming to Livingston, we will have a go.”
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