Holt demands ‘no sympathy, no compassion’ against hapless Berwick

Livingston manager Gary Holt has ordered his players to show Berwick no mercy when the sides meet in the Betfred Cup.

Livi are aiming for a fourth straight win in the competition against a Rangers team that have conceded 16 goals in their three outings.

The English side have shipped 49 goals since they last scored any goal when Cameron Blues – now with Livingston – netted in a 2-1 League Two defeat by Queen’s Park on March 12.

Former Livingston midfielder and under-20s manager Ian Little is trying to reshape the side ahead of their Lowland League campaign following their relegation from the league.

But Holt is demanding his players adopt a ruthless streak at the Tony Macaroni Arena.

“We want to win the group and we’ve not done that yet,” he said.

“We need to go out there and approach the game with the right attitude and mentality because we want to win it.

“Berwick, while they have had a tough time, are rebuilding under Ian, who I know well. They have got a lot of new players, so it’s going to take time for them.

“But we can’t show them any sympathy, any compassion. We have to be professional.”

Holt feels his players could have been more clinical so far, adding: “Each game we have improved, we have created more chances each game.

“We are disappointed we have not taken more but we are only four weeks back and that will come. The good thing is we are creating chances.”

FourFourTwo Staff

FourFourTwo was launched in 1994 on the back of a World Cup that England hadn’t even qualified for. It was an act of madness… but it somehow worked out. Our mission is to offer our intelligent, international audience access to the game’s biggest names, insightful analysis... and a bit of a giggle. We unashamedly love this game and we hope that our coverage reflects that.