David dangles a Euro carrot for his Lions
David Martindale challenged his players to secure European football next season after Livingston soared into the top six.
In a cluttered mid-table picture, only five points separate Dundee United in fourth and 10th placed Ross County.
The top-half spots are up for grabs but teams could also easily tumble down the table with a loss or two.
However, Martindale believes Livi, only a point shy of Thomas Courts’ team, can gather the momentum to grab a Europa League qualifying berth.
He said: “I think it’s a massive carrot for the players. I said to them, once we get
into the top six, let’s see if anyone else can get us out of the top six.
“Because we’ll fight and we’ll scrap and do everything we can to stay in the top six.
“For this group of players and staff, everybody at the club, it would be absolutely incredible if Europe is an achievement we can get to.
“It’s going to be difficult, this was just one game, take it in isolation and look to the next.
“I’m still beating myself up about the points we’ve dropped in previous games. We could be sitting in fourth quite comfortably.”
Martindale insisted that Livingston’s charge up the Premiership standings is at odds with the pre-season predictions of so many who doubted them.
“I think it’s a massive credit to the players and the coaching staff,” he added.
“I think everybody and their dog had us relegated at the start of the season.
“I was very vocal on that, I knew what we had in the building, I trusted the process.
“That’s us in the top six now and our aim and our challenge is to stay in the top six.”
The goal rush was a great response to Martindale’s work and demands made to his players after three consecutive draws.
He added: “We’ve come away with a clean sheet and four goals, so you’ve probably got to say it’s one of our best performances. I don’t think you can ask much more.
“I put demands on the offensive players as I felt they’ve been controlling large portions of the last couple of games but not putting the ball in the back of the net.
“To be 3-0 up in 20 minutes, I think they have stepped up to the plate with Bruce Anderson and Scott Pittman getting the
first-half goals.”