IT’D BE INCREDIBLE
Livi boss Martindale is determined to secure League Cup final spot
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Livingston boss David Martindale says winning Sunday’s Betfred Cup semifinal against St Mirren would be an ‘incredible’ moment for the club.
The Lions make the trip to Hampden aiming to reach the League Cup final for just the second time in the club’s history.
And he admitted that resting key players for the league visit of Celtic yesterday (Wednesday) was the only way to ensure the Lions would be at full strength and ready to roar against the Buddies.
Speaking to the Courier, he said: “A win would be incredible for the club and the community and that’s obviously what we’ll be aiming to achieve.
“St Mirren have beaten us twice in the league this year, both 1-0, and to be fair I think we should have taken more from both games - a draw would probably have been a fair result both times but we didn’t defend our box in the first game and the second game it’s a deflection that’s gone in. It’s going to be a tough test.”
The manager admitted he would have liked a full week of preparation for the showdown and believes last night’s re-arranged clash with Celtic could have been moved to a future date.
He commented: “I’m a wee bit frustrated that we have to play a re-arranged midweek game before a cup semi-final.
“There’s been games rescheduled for February for other clubs and we’ve got space in those weeks too. When I’m looking at our fixture list and calendar, I’m thinking ‘surely we could have moved the game to February’.
“That would have given us the same kind of downtime that St Mirren have been afforded because recovery is massive.
“Hampden’s a massive park and I think it’s difficult for fans to maybe realise the impact of playing Saturday-Wednesday-Sunday has on a squad but it does have a big impact.”
He added: “I had to be conscious of that going into the Celtic game. “I have to put the club first. Getting to a national cup final is bigger than a single league game. “We’ve got to give it our best shot. “It’s been 17 years since they were in a final so that shows it’s not something that happens regularly for us.
“We need to go there all guns blazing. Marvin Bartley’s 34, Efe Ambrose is 32, do I want them playing 90 minutes a few days before a cup semi-final?
“I’ve got guys who are fundamental to the squad like Scott Robinson. I can’t go into the St Mirren game with him having picked up an injury in a league game in the midweek.
“I’ve got to do what’s right for the club and that’s balancing the two games out and putting it all into perspective. I’ve got 38 league games. I’ve got one chance of winning a cup semi-final.”