It’s business as usual as far as Conor Sammon is concerned. While many players are heading off to sunny climes, or at least a long weekend in Largs, to recharge the batteries after a long campaign, Sammon and his Partick Thistle team-mates are getting on with the job in hand.
The two-legged shoot-out with Livingston for survival or promotion will probably make the Gunfight at the O.K Coral look like a mild disagreement with a handbag. Sammon, the 31-year-old Irishman, is well versed in grim relegation tussles. He was up against it during his time with Wigan and he was part of the Kilmarnock side which survived the drop back in 2010.
It may not be one of the most glamorous fixtures of the season, but Sammon is relishing the challenge against David Hopkin’s buoyant and battling West Lothian side.
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Livingston have plenty of winning momentum but a timely and decisive victory on the last day of the Ladbrokes Premiership season against Dundee last weekend has given Thistle a significant boost in morale.
“We can’t afford to take the foot off the pedal,” said Sammon. “That’s the case with football. Whether you are winning the league or fighting for promotion or trying to stave off relegation, you are always looking at the next game. You play one game, get that out of the way and straight away you are thinking of who you are playing next. We had a great result against Dundee but that’s gone now. We are aware of what is ahead of us. It’s been business as usual in training and we’ve just been making sure we are prepared as well as we can be. Most of the teams are off now but our season continues. You’d probably want to be off on holiday and certainly don’t what to be in this position. But that’s just the way it has panned out.
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“It’s a final push with two massive games. Livingston are a good side and it will be a good test. We have been playing some decent stuff since the split. The signs have been good. The win over Dundee saw us get the rewards. We could’ve gone down ourselves but I thought we fully deserved that win. The lads are up, they are looking forward to it. We respect Livingston. They are tough and organised. But we are used to that kind of team. There are no easy games in the position we have been in. But the stakes are that much higher this week.
"It's good that the games are coming thick and fast. It’s a double header and it’s arrived quickly. You just get stuck in. Training has been normal and we just have to go for it."
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