Holt tells his team: Grow up and be brave
Gary Holt has told his players they need to be braver, wiser and more cynical. The Livingston boss was angry that none of his players brought down Mason Bloomfield as he ran in on goal to score the winner for Hamilton in yesterday’s match.
Holt thought it showed a worrying sign of naivety and said: “We need to take our chances.
“We created really good chances, not half chances.
“We also need to be cleverer and more streetwise.
“If they are breaking on goal, late in the game, then you need to take the player down and take one for the team. “We would then leave here with a point. That incident has cost us today.
“That’s two defeats in a row and I have spoken to the players.
“I’ve told them we need to grow up, show we are men and be braver.
“That said, we played very well and hit the crossbar at the end.
“But we got hit with the old sucker punch and it is hard to believe we lost the game.
“However, we will have to bounce back – and we will.
“We will get our heads up, our chests out and we will go again.”
Livvy entertain Champions Celtic next weekend in a live television game at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
Holt knows his players will rise to the challenge and said: “We have had some really good results this season.
“We have good players and a real belief in what we do.
“Every game brings its own challenges and a game against Celtic is as tough as they come.
“They have been doing really well domestically and there is no doubt we will be the underdogs.
“However, you never rule yourself out and admit defeat before a ball has been kicked.
“It is our home game and we will have our fans right behind us in what will be a full house with a cracking atmosphere on the telly.
“It’s all there for us to go out and enjoy.”