Sean Kelly is relishing Livingston’s top-six shootout with Motherwell on Saturday.
Both sides go into their final match before the split at the Tony Macaroni Arena with high hopes of sealing their place in the top half alongside Celtic, Rangers and Hearts.
A draw should be sufficient for Motherwell, while a victory for Livingston will be enough as long as either Hibernian or Ross County fail to win their matches away to Hearts and Aberdeen respectively.
“I think it is a cup final for both teams,” said Lions defender Kelly. “Everybody knows what’s at stake.
“Outside the bubble of the two teams, it’s probably not that big a game to anybody else but within our bubble it obviously can be at this point in the season.
“There’s excitement in the dressing room. There’s no real pressure on us because for Livingston to get top six is a great achievement that nobody really expects at the start of the season. There’s internal pressure though because we want to win the game.
“There’s obviously a scenario where if we win we still might not be in the top six. We can only go out and try and win the game. It would be massive for the club because of the bonuses that come with it and the fixtures you get.”
The two sides are separated by just two points in the table, with Motherwell having won 2-1 in both previous meetings between the sides. The Fir Park side have been in poor form this calendar year but got themselves back into the top half with a 4-2 win over St Mirren last weekend.
“It’s good to be playing at home, to have the fans behind us,” said Kelly. “Our games against Motherwell have been tight all season so I don’t imagine this one will be too different.
“It’s going to be hard because Motherwell look like they’ve turned their form around and are getting back to where they were earlier in the season. They’ve got good players. Kevin Van Veen is a handful. We’re under no illusions about how hard it’s going to be.”
