Toddlers Livi “must walk before they can run”

Livingston manager Gary Holt insists the club will continue to take baby steps because the Lions are still the Premiership’s ‘toddlers’.

The West Lothian outfit are gearing up for their second successive campaign back in the topflight after finishing ninth last term, 12 points clear of the relegation zone.

Livingston are now in an even stronger financial position than they were 12 months ago, helped by taking in £1.3 million in prize money and average attendances rising to 3,820 from 1,360.

Holt (left) has already recruited Marvin Bartley, Lyndon Dykes, Nicky Devlin, Robbie Crawford and Cece Franck Pepe, but the former Scotland midfielder insists the club must continue to adopt a cautious approach – both on and off the pitch – as they bid to become Premiership mainstays.

He said: “It’s about taking that next step, but without too much of a jump.

“If you do that, you end up in financial ruin, you end up relegated and then you have a lot of baggage you can’t carry.

“It’s about making small steps on and off the pitch, not just the whole focus on the pitch.

“The whole infrastructure has to change – and we’re doing that slowly but surely.

“I see it as being a baby crawling, then you’re a toddler.

“We’re at the toddler stage and now we need to walk before we start to run.

“Hopefully, down the years, we get to run, but you have to go through those stages.

“If you go from crawling to running and miss out the bit in the middle, you’ll end up flat on your face and we’ll hit some serious struggles.”