IT’S been a summer of change for Livingston but that won’t faze David Martindale one bit.

The Lions have a knack of finding the right, or even better quality, replacements each window when star players head for pastures new.

Twelve players in already this summer through necessity rather than choice as 11 headed in the other direction at the end of the season.

But that’s nothing for those working behind the scenes in West Lothian given 17 players were signed last term, with another 10 moving on.

Leaving through the revolving doors at the Tony Macaroni  in the summer were striker Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and midfielder Scott Robinson who provided a combined 15 goals.

Ever-present defender Jon Guthrie also moved on to Northampton with Alan Lithgow, Scott Tiffoney, Efe Ambrose and Rafa De Vita all leaving.

Martindale acted quickly to repopulate his squad for the upcoming season adding some quality to the ranks.

There’ll be high expectations on Bruce Anderson, signed permanently from Aberdeen, to fill the goalscoring void left by Jet, while Andrew Shinnie could provide a creative spark in the midfield.

Sean Kelly and James Penrice bring top-flight experience to the backline alongside central defender Tom Parkes and Ayo Obileye who enjoyed a standout season with Queen of the South last season.

Of the incoming business there are some unknown quantities. Ben Williamson has joined on loan from Rangers in a bid for first-team football and Christian Montano penned a deal with the Lions after his contract expired at Port Vale.

Loan signings Adam Lewis from Liverpool and Norwich’s keeper Daniel Bardon add some depth to the squad.

And while there has been a lot of talk surrounding the comings and goings, eleven-goal Alan Forrest and constant Scott Pittman remain key men for Livi.

One thing that’s for sure is that Martindale, who will lean on Marvin Bartley as his No2 after signing a player-assistant manager deal, will be looking for a better start to the season than last term.

There was a period where Livingston’s Premiership status looked in danger after a dire opening of just three wins in the opening 15 fixtures.

The horror run led to Gary Holt resigning from his post; what followed was remarkable. Martindale stepped up to take over the reigns and transformed the club’s fortunes.

Seven wins in his first ten league matches, which were all unbeaten including back-to-back draws with Celtic, rocketed the Lions up the table.

Add in the fact Martindale also guided the club to the Betfred Cup final, all while juggling an approval request for the SPFL’s fit and proper persons’ test, and it was an incredible start.

Unfortunately for Martindale and his non-stop, hard-working side they would fall in the final to St Johnstone 1-0.

But it was an undeniably successful season. The trip to Hampden only complimented a consecutive fifth place finish.

Ask Martindale or Bartley and they’d no doubt bite your hand off for survival, but quietly behind the scenes you’d expect their ambitions are much greater.

In fact, Bartley even admitted survival is the goal this term after taking on the position of assistant, despite top half finishes in the previous two seasons.

The Lions have enjoyed a largely successful pre-season with comfortable wins over Lincoln Red Imps, Europa FC, East Stirlingshire, Arbroath and Edinburgh City.

Livingston also progressed to the knockout stages of the Premier Sports Cup finishing second in their group. A 3-0 win over Brechin kicked off competitive action before slumping to a 2-1 loss against Brechin.

But Martindale’s men bounced back ahead of league duty with a shootout win over Raith and 3-1 victory at home to Cowdenbeath.

One change less expected in the off-season was that of appointing a new Club Secretary in Derek White. He had been working part-time in the role before moving to a full-time position in the summer.

And his influence has been quickly spotted around the Tony Macaroni Arena. New showers in the changing rooms, 500 new seats in the stadium (as well as a fully kitted out media area), a deep clean of the pitch and a top of the range camera for analysis are just some of the improvements carried out over the summer months.