HOLT WILL OFFER LIVINGSTON THE LEADERSHIP THEY NEED, SAYS BOSS
GARY HOLT insists former Rangers midfielder Jason Holt will lead by example after joining Livingston.
The 27-year-old has penned a two-year contract with Livvy after impressing during a recent trial period — with his new gaffer adamant he has been raising the bar in training.
Holt arrives following five years on the books at Ibrox and, despite latterly being farmed out on loan to Fleetwood Town and St Johnstone, made 116 appearances for the Glasgow giants.
‘On day one when he came in, some of the younger boys were like: “Jeez, that’s Jason Holt in training!”,’ said Livvy boss Holt. ‘He’s someone who’s got a pedigree and I’m surprised in one way that he hadn’t got a club already.
‘He hates losing — even in training — which is great. It’s nice to have people on the pitch that’ll say you’re not doing your job right and if you take that into a Saturday, you’ll end up sitting in the stand.’
It is understood Livingston are ready to pitch their latest signing straight into the squad for tonight’s visit to Motherwell following a pointless start to their Premiership campaign. And Holt has no doubt his namesake will immediately join the likes of captain Marvin Bartley and ex-Celtic man Efe Ambrose among the leaders in the dressing room.
The Livvy boss continued: ‘On and off the pitch, Jason is exceptional — and that’ll rub off. ‘We’ve got some experienced boys that the rest look up to, like our captain Marv and Efe. They hold that respect after what they’ve done, where they’ve been, how they conduct themselves and how they train. He’s got that in abundance.’
Holt’s character and quality may prove invaluable as Livingston attempt to secure their first points of the season against fellow early strugglers Motherwell. And the boss has confessed that he is still coming to terms with ensuring his players are sufficiently fired up in an empty stadium.
He added: ‘It’s a different atmosphere and maybe that’s where I need to be more upbeat and enthusiastic — maybe I need to be that adrenaline shot they get from the crowd. ‘Or maybe I need to get wee Cheb (Stephen Sproule, kitman) to say a few choice words when they’re in the tunnel so they’re fired up! You can come out and hear a pin drop — but it’s a game that means so much and that’s what we need to get over to the players.’
Meanwhile, Motherwell aim to go back into the transfer market after losing Northern Ireland international Liam Donnelly for about two months. However, manager Stephen Robinson admits finding a fit full-back could be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Donnelly (below) has played at the base of Motherwell’s midfield over the past 12 months but his experience in the back line had been set to be utilised after they lost three left-sided defenders to injury.
The 22-year-old, who has two caps, is set to miss Northern Ireland’s Nations League openers against Romania and Norway next month and the Euro 2020 play-off semi-final against Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 8. Robinson said: ‘We have been told he could be out a minimum of two months. It’s a knee problem, he will go to the specialist and get a proper diagnosis.
‘We’re not sure if he needs surgery but it will be a minimum of eight weeks, probably a little bit longer. ‘The curse of the left-back position — he only played there 20 minutes in training.
‘We are actively looking to try and get someone in in that defensive position. What’s available at this time of the season is virtually nothing because England aren’t playing, people haven’t played since March in the lower leagues. ‘I need someone to come in and hit the ground running with a minimal amount of money to spend. That reduces it down to a needle in a haystack. But we will keep searching.’