Livingston boss Gary Holt backs Lyndon Dykes to make his mark on Rangers
Livingston manager Gary Holt has backed Lyndon Dykes to embrace the limelight against Rangers.
Rangers have been credited with an interest in Dykes throughout the summer but Steven Gerrard has signed two other strikers, Kemar Roofe and Cedric Itten, this month.
However, the Australian’s future remains the subject of speculation after Barnsley had two bids rejected and QPR watched him in action.
The former Queen of the South forward has scored penalties in each of his last two matches and Holt has backed him to cause Rangers more problems on Sunday.
“The three performances have shown he wants to better himself first and foremost, it doesn’t matter who he is playing,” Holt said.
“The fact it’s on Sky is the carrot for anyone that’s in our jerseys. That’s the carrot, and we are playing Rangers. What an opportunity for you.
“The big man has embraced where he’s at. He knows there’s speculation, he knows we are open and honest with him, and he takes it into training and games every day.
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“There’s been nothing concrete but when it’s the right offer for him and the club then things will happen. Until then he is our player, he embraces what we try and do for him, how we want him to play.
“His performances in the first two games were really good but the one on Wednesday was excellent, and he’s going to carry that on for the foreseeable future.”
Holt is confident the 24-year-old is not the type to lose focus amid transfer talk.
“He wants to come in and earn his crust and do a job,” he said.
“He knows how much he means to us but also the players in the dressing room and what he offers us as a team.
“He is the type of player who wants to do the best for his team-mates first and foremost and then himself after that, and that’s a good trait to have.
“He’s an unselfish player, he wants Livingston to do well, he wants his team-mates to do well, and he knows on the back of that he’ll do well, because they have to get the ball, fetch and carry it for him to get the goals. It goes hand in hand.”
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