Livingston boss 'looking forward' to pivotal Motherwell clash

Livingston boss David Martindale says he’s ‘looking forward’ to the challenge of taking on Motherwell on Saturday as the Lions look to close the gap at the foot of the table to a single point.

Both sides head to Fir Park in dire need of a result, with Livi winless in 11 while the Steelmen’s run is even worse as they look to end a 15 game barren spell as the top flight’s bottom two clubs meet.

The gaffer also insisted there’s a balancing act between putting too much emphasis on the importance of the game, whilst accepting the potential for it to be a season-defining 90 minutes.

He said: “You can’t underplay this game. There’s no getting away from it, it is a huge opportunity and it’s one we have to go and win. Equally it’s not one you want to lose.

“Is it season-defining? I think you can argue that both ways. There’s still a lot of games left to play but I won’t sugarcoat it. It’s a huge game for this football club and Motherwell.

“You have to watch what you say because if you call it season-defining and with all the pressure surrounding that, and then you lose it, how do you then pick the boys up and if I don’t say it’s season-defining then fans and people will say I’m delusional.

“If we lose this weekend, there’s still 18 games to go and try to win. But there’s no denying the significance of the game.”

He added: “I actually enjoy these games. I don’t know what it is. I like the challenge and enjoy the challenge.

“I’m really looking forward to it. I was more nervous going into matchday one, because it was a new team in a new league and it was about seeing how we did. Now we’ve done everything we can to get the players ready and it’s about the performance. It’s my job to make sure the players are prepared for the game.”