EIGHT WILL BE GREAT FOR LIONS

LIVINGSTON boss David Hopkin insists the Betfred Cup is a huge bonus this season as his side are still targeting an eighth-place finish in the Championship.

The Lions head to Falkirk tonight to face the Bairns in the last 16.

But Hopkin admits his men have already exceeded their expectations in the competition – and is hoping they can more than hold their own in Scottish football’s second tier.

Livi held Dunfermline to a 1-1 draw in their opening Championship encounter at the weekend and Hopkin admits their ambitions must be modest this term.

He said: “Livingston have to be realistic this season. We’ve just been promoted and we’re a very small club with a small budget and fan base.

“Success to us will be finishing eighth in the Championship and that is my main aim. That’d be a great season for Livingston.

“We have to look at what Dumbarton have done under Steve Aitken and make them our benchmark.

“If we finish eighth with the budget we have and a young team that’s not played at this level before I’ll be delighted.

“The Betfred Cup is a real bonus for us as we never expected to qualify from a difficult section that included Partick Thistle and St Mirren. For us to get through that was great.

“Falkirk are going to be up there challenging for the Championship title and have the nucleus of a team that has been there or thereabouts for four years.

“Peter has made a lot of good signings and made them even stronger and we know his will be a very hard game for us. We’re away from home and are under no illusions but it is a one-off cup game.

“There’s no added pressure of getting one or three points so we can possibly relax a wee bit and try to enjoy the occasion.”

Meanwhile, Peter Grant has urged Falkirk to mix steel with style as they bid to return to their impressive cup form tonight.

The Bairns sailed through their group stage, winning four out of four and scoring 13 goals, but crashed to a 3-1 defeat to St Mirren in their Championship opener at the weekend.

And stopper Grant admits they have work to do to make the quarter-finals.

He said: “Saturday was disappointing but the only thing we can do now is put it right in the next game and come back with a win and get ourselves going again.

“We know the stuff we didn’t do right but we need to dust ourselves down and refocus and get ready to go.

“It’s another tough game but we need to go out there with a bang and start with a purpose and go about our business with diligence and a proper intensity.”