Rusty Livingston let down by lack of first-half graft
Gary Holt called for his Livingston players to go back to basics.
The West Lothian club’s recent success has been built on an incredible workrate.
Holt felt his men forgot about that during the early part of their defeat by St Mirren yesterday.
A half-time reminder of the way that Livi normally perform changed things a little, but not enough to avoid leaving Paisley without a point.
Holt said: “We tried to play football and let our talents show rather than do the hard graft first.
“We were reactive to situations whereas we like to be proactive, get in areas and get runners going beyond.
“In the second half, we did that better. We were more on the front foot and had a couple of great chances at the start of the half.
“It shouldn’t take until half-time for us to have a word in their ear to remind them these are the levels we are looking for.
“We put enough work into them pre-season and they work hard, they are professionals.
“They are hurting because they know they let themselves down with the goal we lost.
“You have to be prepared to put your head in where it hurts.”
The lack of fans in the stadium makes everything a little strange for everyone involved.
Livingston don’t carry the biggest away support, but players always get a boost when they hear cheers coming their way.
It’s something that will perhaps have less of an impact once it becomes the normal way of operating.
Holt, however, refused to use the absence of fans as an excuse for his players losing the match.
He went on: “It’s fine because you are caught up in it. You are trying to get your messages across. It’s surreal, it’s different, but it is what it is.
“We’re home to Hibs next for our first home game and there needs to be an improvement.
“If we play like we did in the second half, I’ll be happy and take whatever result comes.
“But you can’t have a chalk and cheese first and second half.
“It’s only the first game and sometimes I need to bite my tongue and remember they’ve been off five months.
“But you can’t tell me the effort and commitment they put in in the second half was the same as the first. That’s what we buy into.
“Forget what’s happened in the past and get back to what we are good at.
“I can take losing games. I can almost understand it and accept it as long as you are doing the right things.
“I don’t think that we did in the first 45 minutes.”