Miller looks to add to squad as Livingston job starts with win
● Hamilton suffer shock defeat at Annan ● Mendy scores debut goal for Dundee
Livingston player-manager Kenny Miller is looking for reinforcements on and off the park after beginning his new role with a 2-1 victory at
Airdrieonians.
Miller played 90 minutes as the Ladbrokes Premiership newcomers started their Betfred Cup campaign with three deserved points.
Scott Pittman and Lee Miller netted in the first half and Livingston saw out the win after gifting Darryl Duffy a goal in the 53rd minute.
Livingston next turn their attention to Tuesday’s meeting with Hamilton in Group F but Miller is looking for backup to assistant coach David Martindale.
“We are working on it,” the 38-year-old said. “It’s the same with players. I think you can see we are not quite where we should be in terms of the numbers we have in the squad.
“I would hopefully see a little bit of movement on that this week, both on the coach and definitely players.”
Hamilton boss Martin Canning accepts he has work to do to strengthen his squad before the start of the Premiership season. Accies suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat to League Two side Annan at Galabank in Group F of the Betfred Cup.
The top-flight outfit struggled to impose themselves on the game and lacked a cutting edge in the final third following the departures of attacking players such as David Templeton, Ali Crawford and Danny Redmond.
They hit the woodwork twice but Canning knows he needs to add to his squad.
“We have lost a few and we are still looking,” he said. “We know what we need in. The boys that are in there, Rakish Bingham, Mason [Bloomfield] did well and Mikkel [Miller], they are creative and we had opportunities but we need to improve on that.”
Jean Alassane Mendy got his Dundee career up and running with a debut goal in the 4-0 Group D win over League Two Stirling Albion at Forthbank. The 28-year-old Senegalese attacker started his first competitive game since signing on a two-year deal from Lokeren and looked the part.
Tunisian striker Sofien Moussa helped himself to a double in the Group D opener, one either side of the interval, before setting up Mendy to fire in a third from just inside the box, with Craig Wighton adding a fourth.
Mendy was one of five Dundee debutants along with Jack Hamilton, Elton Ngwatala, Nathan Ralph and secondhalf substitute Kharl Madianga, and boss Neil Mccann was pleased with what he wit-
0 Kenny Miller is looking for reinforcements on and off the park.
nessed. He said: “Mendy is direct but has an end product which is the most important thing for me.”
Tommy Wright wishes St Johnstone had shown the same killer edge they produced in their shoot-out win over East Fife during the 90 minutes.
The Perth outfit were forced
to penalties by Darren Young’s Ladbrokes League One outfit after a frustrating 0-0 draw at Mcdiarmid Park.
“The best bit of quality we showed in the penalty box all day was in the shoot-out because our approach play, how we kept the ball and our movement was good,” the Saints manager said.