Holt to consider future as defeated Livi fail to turn tide
LIVINGSTON 0 ST MIRREN 1 Doyle-hayes (56)
Livingston manager Gary Holt last night revealed that he was considering his future at the club.
The former Scotland midfielder made the admission after watching his team fall to their ninth Premiership defeat of the season in a narrow loss to St Mirren.
Jake Doyle-hayes netted the only goal in the second half as the Buddies collected their first league win since August.
The latest defeat means Livingston are now only one point clear of 11th-place St Mirren, who have three games in hand.
Holt said: “I’ll have to have a look at myself and see what I am doing right, if the players are buying into it. If they’re not then I’ll have a look at myself about what I’m going to do.
“At the end of the day we’re 15 games in and we’ve not got enough points in the bag so I’ll have a decision whether I am affecting the players.
“Have they got tired of me? It happens. At the end of the day you do move on. If things aren’t going the right way you look at yourself first and foremost.
“I’ll go home tonight and ask, did I do my best, did I pick the right team, did I get the tactics right? And if it’s the same record over and over, something has to change.
“It hurts when you lose games. “We haven’t won for a while in the league and we’re losing goals and losing games.”
Asked if he had been thinking about his future in recent weeks, Holt, whose team went into the game on the back of Betfred Cup wins over Stenhousemuir and Airdrie, said: “Not at all, it’s always raw when you lose a game so I’m probably standing here a bit raw with emotion because we lost a game but it is something you do look at.”
Both teams were looking to build on encouraging results in the Betfred Cup following respective barren spells in the Premiership.
What they lacked in quality in the first half was more than made up in endeavour.
However, the only notable chance of the first half came after just three minutes. Alan Forrest cut inside and unleashed a low drive from just outside the box that Jak Alnwick could only parry.
Jay Emmanuel-thomas reacted first to the rebound but headed wide.
The second half started more brightly. Forrest was again involved in the Lions’ next chance in the 52nd minute but Alnwick got down to his left to keep out the drive from 18 yards.
Saints had a sight of goal moments later but Jamie Mcgrath’s first-time shot from Marcus Fraser’s low pass that skimmed off the head of Jon Guthrie went behind for a corner.
From the resulting set-play, however, the visitors stormed ahead in the 56th minute.
Mcgrath’s delivery was only cleared to the edge of the box and Doyle-hayes found the net with a first-time effort that took a deflection en route.
Livingston pressed as expected but the St Mirren rearguard successfully protected Alnwick’s goal to see out the win.
Holt, meanwhile, was pragmatic over Robby Mccrorie’s absence after the on-loan Rangers goalkeeper tested positive for Covid-19 on his return from Scotland Under-21s duty.
He added: “Look, there is a worldwide pandemic going on.
“In March, I didn’t know anyone who’d had it. Now, my brother’s had it, his fiancee’s had it.
“The thing for me is that I hope Robby comes back fit and healthy along with everybody else who has caught it or are isolating. Let’s not lay blame at people.”