Nouble determined to force his way back into Martindale’s Livi plans
JOEL Nouble has vowed to try and force his way into the Livingston team in the second half of the season and bolster the West Lothian club’s push for a top-six cinch Premiership spot.
Nouble has spent the first six months of the 2021/22 season on loan at Arbroath and helped the part-time outfit move to the top of the cinch Championship table.
The 25-year-old, who moved to the Tony Macaroni Arena from Aldershot Town in the summer, believes his spell at Gayfield this term has been invaluable for him.
The English forward, who scored five goals in 22 appearances for Dick Campbell’s side, is determined to feature for David Martindale’s team when the top flight resumes after the winter break.
“The chance to go and play in the Scottish Premiership with Livingston is huge for me,” he said. “I might not play straight away. I may have to be patient, but I’ll wait for my chance. I want to play at the highest level I can and the Scottish Premiership is a great step for me.”
Nouble added: “Arbroath made me feel wanted from the very first training session. When you are a new person at a club you can often feel a bit left out. That was never the case with me and Arbroath.
“They have helped me grow and develop as a player and hopefully I’ve played my part in helping them be successful.
“There are a lot of good players here and I feel like I’ve been here a lot longer than I have. It’s the best loan deal I could ever have dreamed of.”
Nouble is set to play his final game for Arbroath on Saturday when the Angus outfit take on Ayr United at Somerset Park and is keen to help them win and remain in top spot in the Championship.
He is optimistic that his Livingston club mate Jack Hamilton, who has returned to Arbroath on loan, will help them to maintain their Premiership promotion push when he departs.
“I’m leaving but Jack Hamilton is coming back,” he said. “So the quality doesn’t drop at all at Arbroath.
“I hope Jack does well here.
If he gets close to doing what he managed last year then it will be brilliant for the club.
“Jack came in and got goals last year when the team was struggling. Now they are flying so watch him go. He’s a natural goalscorer and I’m confident if he gets the service he will deliver.
“The Arbroath result will be the first one I look for when I go on my phone after games. We have done exceptionally well this season and hopefully the boys can maintain that.”
Meanwhile, Martindale has revealed he is targeting up to four new signings for Livingston after five exits so far in the transfer window.
The Lions kicked off the
New Year by loaning out Jack Hamilton and Harrison Clark to Arbroath and Kelty Hearts, respectively.
Ben Williamson also returned to Rangers before joining Raith Rovers on loan, whilst Harrison Panayiotou has been allowed to leave permanently after making just four substitute’s appearances since joining in the summer.
With on-loan Norwich City keeper Daniel Barden not yet well enough to return as he recovers from testicular cancer, Martindale has some holes to plug in his squad ahead of the restart against Dundee on January 18.
And he admits the earlierthan-expected return following the premature winter break because of the growing coronavirus threat means he faces a race against time to beef up his options.
He said: “I think we’re still going to have to pad out the squad because of the virus.
“I’m probably looking at bringing in three or four to make up for four or five moving on in the other direction.
“Also, we’re now coming back four or five days earlier than we were supposed to.
“The winter window is usually an ideal opportunity to get your new signings in but we’re not going to have that the way we would normally have.
“So, we probably now need to be a week ahead of where we thought we were going to be.”