THOSE that predicted that Livingston wouldn’t remain at the sharp end of the standings for long last season were ultimately proven right.
And similar suggestions this term about a team that currently sit third in the Premiership wouldn’t be that far wide of the mark, either.
That won’t faze Gary Holt or his players when they head to Ibrox this afternoon, though. They will do so knowing a win would take them above their hosts and, temporarily at least, leave Celtic as the only side above them in the table.
By the time Livingston suffered their inevitable slump in form last term, they had already accumulated enough points to ensure their safety.
And defender Ricki Lamie knows the Lions must make the most of their early momentum after another solid start to the campaign in recent weeks.
Lamie said: “I’ve had a wee niggling injury so [the break] came at a good time for me. Now I can ease myself back in with a nice visit to Ibrox!
“I should be okay for that one – I’ve made good progress during the break so – fingers crossed – I should be making an appearance
“It’s probably a good thing for us [being written off]. When people’s expectations are so low, you get to prove them all wrong.
“Basically, we want to do what we did last year by getting a lot of points on the board early on. It’s been at the back of our minds that if we can get off to a flier again then that’ll stand us in good stead if we have a dip later in the season.
“It sounds great, going to their place with the chance to overtake them but we’re only four games in!
“But there’s no pressure on us to pick up points when we go to places like that. It’s very hard to do at the best of times but it’s good that we’ve had the start we’ve had because no-one can take those points away.
“It (Rangers’ Old Firm defeat to Celtic) could be a positive – they’ll probably look upon this game as the perfect opportunity for them to bounce back after a negative result.
“But there could also be a few doubts and some nerves in their side that we could capitalise on.”
The problem, and the pattern, was clear to see for Livingston throughout last season but finding a solution is often easier said than done.
At home, and on that much talked about plastic pitch, Holt’s side were more than effective.
But they struggled when they hit the road and not enough points were picked up when they weren’t in the surrounds of the Tony Macaroni Arena.
An impressive 4-1 win away to Ross County finally ended that particular barren run last month.
But the task of making the trip to Ibrox is an altogether different and more difficult one for Livingston.
Lamie said: “I hadn’t realised quite how bad it was until we had a review of our season in May, which underlined just how much we relied on our home form.
“It was well documented that we weren’t doing well on the road but I’d no idea we’d gone a year without an away win in the league.
“The gaffer had moaned that we’d blown a great chance to rectify that when we drew at St Johnstone after being 2-0 up in the first game of the season so it was great to then go and beat Ross County 4-1 in Dingwall because not too many clubs will do that to them on their own turf.
“Hopefully, that will give us a springboard. Going to Ibrox is like a free hit for us because the expectations on us are zero so if we can pick up a point or three there it would be a huge bonus and help us put last season’s poor results away.
“Even the world’s best teams have weaknesses. Rangers had been flying until that defeat by Celtic but the way we set ourselves up and go about our game will cause everyone else problems.
“We managed to pick up points from every team last season – including the Old Firm – but we’ll treat Rangers with respect. They’ve been very impressive in Europe but if we play our own game against them we’ll always have a chance.”
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