Livingston: We need to get on and beat Partick - Liam Fox

LIVINGSTON captain Liam Fox insists that the Livi players are desperate to get out and play football this weekend despite the sacking of manager Gary Bollan last Sunday.

The former Dundee United and Livi player was dismissed for what the club’s board said was a lack of engagement with the club’s youth development system, but as the Lions face up to Partick Thistle tomorrow in the First Division at home, Fox says the players are only focused on getting three points.

Fox admits the removal of Bollan came as a shock to the players, but he maintains the team will stick to what they do best and leave other decisions to the boardroom.

He said: “It’s fair to say that it’s been a week that I don’t think many of the players saw coming. It was a massive shock to us to see the manager leave.

“We’ve experienced highs together and we’ve experienced lows as well, and when you have a management team take charge for quite a fair amount of time a rapport is built with the players.

He added, “We were disappointed to see the manager go, but the board of directors here at the club have made a decision and we as players need to get on with it.

“The boys were shocked and disappointed, but equally we understand the board have made the decision and we can only affect things on a Saturday as players and that’s what we’re paid to do. We’ll let other people worry about decisions like that and we’ll just get on with playing football.”

Livi face up to Jackie MacNamara’s Thistle side with the two teams having struggled to separate themselves from one another over the campaign.

Both sit only one point apart in the league table, with each outfit having enjoyed a 2-1 home success over the other from the two encounters so far.

And Fox is well aware the challenge the Lions face at the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium tomorrow will be a tough one, although he takes heart from a disappointing, but battling, 3-0 defeat at Ross County last time out

He said: “I’ve been really impressed with Thistle when we’ve played them this season. In saying that, the last time Thistle visited us here I think we probably played worse than we did at County two weeks ago – but on that occasion we came away with a victory and we lost in Dingwall.”