Holt agrees to succeed Miller at Livingston

Livingston director John Ward insists incoming manager Gary Holt will work under the same conditions as predecessor Kenny Miller.

Former Falkirk boss Holt, pictured, is expected to be formally unveiled in the next 24 hours after agreeing terms following a meeting with the club’s board yesterday.

Ex-Scotland and Rangers striker Miller left the player/manager role on Monday after just seven games in charge, with the Premiership club saying in a statement that he was reluctant to agree to their request to focus solely on managing the team.

Miller succeeded David Hopkin, who led the side to successive promotions, having been told that he would have to work with the existing backroom staff, including assistant manager David Martindale, who is also involved in recruiting players. However, amid unsubstantiated rumours that Miller’s working relationship with Martindale broke down, Ward insists Holt is well aware of what he is walking into.

Ward said: “We have been very clear, almost to the point of being boring, that there are five or six guys in the backroom staff who have been there under David Hopkin in helping the club achieve back-toback promotions and we wanted to be loyal to them.

“That was made clear to Kenny and Gary. We are, however, looking to strengthen the coaching team as well.

“Gary was identified during our initial search for a new manager but because we went down a different route it was something that got sidelined. We’ve now revisited that.”