Livvy back Darren to gain from the pain

LIVINGSTON manager John McGlynn insists Darren Jamieson’s embarrassing blunder at Easter Road last weekend will make him a better goalkeeper. The 23-year-old Lions No 1 found himself in no-man’s land after he was beaten by a long kick from Hibs counterpart Mark Oxley in a 2-1 defeat. But the Livingston players and management team have rallied round Jamieson this week and McGlynn has no qualms about throwing him in for today’s visit of Cowdenbeath. McGlynn said: ‘It was one of those freak goals but there is no doubt that if you’re a goalkeeper, you don’t want to be beaten by your opposite number. ‘We’ve given him all the support we can; he is a good goalkeeper, he is only 23 and last season was his first full season. ‘It’s the old saying, if it does not kill you it will make you stronger. ‘It’s a fluke, we’ve put it behind us and we’ve supported Darren enormously this week. ‘If he can learn from that and come out of the other end, it will make him better. It’s up to him to come out on Saturday and show he has a strong mentality to get over it. ‘I’m sure he will rally and be stronger for it. He’s still building his character as a young goalkeeper.’ Livingston found themselves in the harsh glare of the spotlight again this week when they were hit with an SPFL transfer ban after it was alleged former chief executive Ged Nixon had made undeclared cash payments to players. It came days after major shareholder Neil Rankine was accused of breaching fit and proper person regulations by failing to declare a financial involvement in East Fife and Dumbarton. McGlynn, for his part, insisted he was comfortable with the signing ban because he had spent his entire playing budget for the season anyway. ‘The transfer embargo does not really worry me in the slightest, we had no intention of going out and signing players,’ said the former Hearts boss. ‘Our money had run dry anyway but if we pick up injures, a loan deal can sometimes dig you out of a hole. We can’t really do that and if we pick up injuries, everyone will have to rally round.’ Meanwhile, Cowdenbeath boss Jimmy Nicholl is targeting an August points bonanza as his team do not meet two of the league’s big guns, Hibs and Hearts, until next month. Nicholl’s side, who drew with Falkirk in last weekend’s opener, finish the month with home games against Alloa and Raith Rovers. ‘Our next three matches are against teams who will be around us this season and it is up to us to make this a good month,’ he said.