Livingston boss makes 'money in the bank' claim as he explains team selection in win over St Johnstone

Following a pair of exasperating defeats, Livingston boss David Martindale said he had to make changes.

Ultimately, he didn’t stir the pot too much and the Lions got back to winning ways at the weekend as they defeated St Johnstone 1-0.

Stephen Kelly was the only change to the starting line-up and the midfielder turned in a brilliant performance on his full Lions debut.

That meant Bruce Anderson had to settle for a place on the bench again, while Sean Kelly kept his place in the heart of the defence despite a tough couple of weeks.

Kelly missed a penalty in the defeat to St Mirren before making a crucial error that led to the only goal in their loss to Ross County.

Martindale, though, explained his thought process and said he was ‘delighted’ with the centre-back’s display against their Perth visitors.

Speaking to the Courier, he commented: “It’s easy to react with emotion on the day. We all do it. But for me, I have to take the game right down to every detail.

“Did we play badly against Ross County? No. I thought we were brilliant between the two boxes and it’s been one mistake that led to the only goal and we’ve been beaten.

“But players all over the park made mistakes in that game because ultimately we didn’t score and we got beat.

“I’ve always said there’s a way in the team and there’s a way out the team and overall the performance was very good. I think the players had credit in the bank to go out there and correct it and that’s what they did. I didn’t think there was a need for any drastic changes.

“I was really delighted especially for Sean because of the last couple of games but he’s a brilliant player and when he’s in the team, he’s that link between the defence and the rest of the team. He lets us play.

“His use