Livingston v Raith Rovers: Livi boss not taking Scottish Cup clash lightly, but hopes to end poor run

Livingston boss David Martindale hopes hosting Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup can halt their 13-game winless run – but isn’t taking the Fifers lightly.

Martindale says there’s not much between top sides in the Championship and basement battlers in the Premiership, and expects a tough clash at the Tony Macaroni Arena on Saturday.

He said: “It’s a tough game. If I look at the top five in the Scottish Championship and the bottom six in the Premiership, I don’t think there’s a lot between the teams at all.

“I don’t think there’s a lot, in terms of the ability, between both sets of players, so I think it’s going to be a difficult game of football.

“You’re split by the league, obviously, we play in the Premiership, but in terms of the clubs and ability on the park, I don’t think there’s a lot between the teams.

“Hopefully this is the kind of game that can get us firing back up again, but it’s a cup game, so we just need to go.

“It’s a chance to re-set and get back in about it, but to be honest, performances over December weren’t overly bad.

“The Motherwell game was a disappointing game from our perspective, but in all the rest of it the performances weren’t that bad.

“A cup run is important. I think it’s important for the club to try and get as much money in as we can into the club.

“I don’t think it has been any secret this year that finances have been extremely tight, so getting a cup run is good for the fans, players and staff, to be involved in the next round.

“But for the board upstairs, bringing a wee bit more money into the club is extremely important.”

Livingston have brought in Australian striker Tete Yengi and English midfielder Shaun Donnellan, while Luiyi de Lucas, Danny Lloyd and Tom Parkes have all departed –