LION’S DEN.. OR THE LIONS’ DEN?
Lovell: Make Parkhead easy to Liv in
STUART LoveLL has seen plenty of teams crumble under the pressure rolling down from 60,000 fans in the stands at Parkhead.
But the Livingston favourite reckons his old club can spring an almighty Scottish Cup shock on Sunday if it’s the Celtic players who start feeling the strain.
Lovell is well aware the odds are against the Lions.
David Martindale’s men are sliding towards the Championship, can barely buy a win and there are financial and political problems behind the scenes creating uncertainty.
Livi have also never won at Celtic Park and the Hoops – for all their struggles this term – stuck seven past Dundee the last time they were on home soil.
But even so, Lovell can see a chink of light for the Lions this weekend.
Parkhead hasn’t quite been a fortress this season. St Johnstone and Motherwell held the Hoops and Hearts left the east end with all three points before Christmas.
There have been loud grumbles from the terraces for months, with boos and jeers on the back of the Saints stalemate, outright hostility after Hearts – and even a 1-0 win against Ross County was met with jeers from disgruntled punters unhappy with the performance.
On the back of last weekend’s league loss at Tynecastle, there will be a huge demand to make short work of Livi to remain in the hunt for silverware.
And Lovell reckons the heat being turned up on Celts, could be an open door for Martindale to stick his foot through.
Parkhead hasn’t been a happy camp this term and Livingston League Cup-winning hero Lovell said: “I would agree. As a manager you’ve got to try and think about what’s going to make them uncomfortable and it’s Celtic’s own backyard.
“They’ve got the crowd behind them, which is a huge advantage.
“So how can you flip it on its head and say ‘if it’s still 0-0 after 20 minutes, the crowd aren’t going to be happy’?
“They’re coming to see Celtic steamroller Livi.
“If Livi are able to set their stall out and make themselves hard to break down and get to the 20-25 minute mark, then of course the advantage for Celtic with the home crowd behind them becomes a disadvantage. “Then you can play on that.” There is a flip side. If Celtic get off to a flier, the punters will relax and it could be a long afternoon.
Livi have managed three draws at Parkhead in the last five years but they’ll need to hang tough to earn a first-ever win.
Lovell said: “Whenever you play in Glasgow you always have to be ready for the fast start. Celtic for 20-odd years it feels like they’re the ones who come out the traps really quickly.
“The cliché you get from all managers is to try and quieten the crowd and that can take a while. The crowd can be excited for a while. It always comes down to if you have 60,000 people there and Celtic start fast then it gets the crowd engaged then suddenly it’s trouble.
“It can be like a tsunami at times when you’re playing against a strong Celtic team.
“They walloped Dundee recently and Celtic are capable of taking a lot of goals off anyone.
“Livi have to find a way of being able to nullify their threat and also try and offer something themselves going forwards.
“Otherwise it just becomes a very tiring afternoon if all you’re doing is trying to keep them at bay and playing all the football in your own half.
“No one in the country expects Livi to get a result and it’s maybe a very good distraction for them at a really challenging time of the season.
“It’s a one-off, different mentality and people have bloodied the noses of Celtic and Rangers in their own back yards this season. They have to take confidence from that.”
Livi are up against it – but
How can you flip it and say ‘if it’s 0-0 after 20 minutes, the crowd aren’t going to be happy’? STUART LOVELL ON LIVI HOPE AT CELTIC PARK
what’s new? The Almondvale outfit have been Scotland’s great underdogs over the years, defying finances and physics to remain in the top flight for six terms.
And even their moment of glory – when they lifted the League Cup in 2004 – was against all odds.
Livi think it’s tough now but back then the club was in administration when Lovell and Co claimed the trophy against a Hibs side featuring stars such as Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson, Garry O’Connor, Derek Riordan and Gary Caldwell. Lovell said: “I have fantastic memories. I’ve not been back to Hampden that often so when I was walking outside you get that feeling. Livi is a provincial club and these things don’t happen every day.”
● Stuart Lovell was promoting Viaplay’s live coverage of Celtic v Livingston and Hibs v Rangers on Sunday. Viaplay is available to stream from viaplay.com or via your TV provider on Sky, Virgin TV and Amazon Prime as an add-on subscription.