Livingston's season was an undoubted success as they grabbed seventh place in the SPFL Premiership and picked up their second highest points tally (49) and number of wins (13) in a top flight campaign.
That being said, losing a top six berth and a genuine chance at qualifying for Europe thanks to conceding an injury-time equaliser in the final pre-split fixture at home to Motherwell will leave a definite 'what if' feeling about the season.
A shocking start - just four points from their first eight games - eventually gave way to some real highs and Bruce Anderson's emergence up front was a huge positive. The 23-year-old bagged 11 league goals in his maiden season in West Lothian and would have had a real shot at the golden boot had an ankle injury not ruled him out for the final two months.
With the season in the books, though, it's time to look ahead to the summer and beyond.
West Lothian Courier sports reporter Callum Carson tackles some of the key questions facing the Lions as they head into the summer break.
Who is set to leave and which out of contract players might stay?
The Lions are fortunate in that they aren’t going to experience the large turnover of players that stunted the start of last season when over a dozen players were needing replaced.
Alan Forrest and Odin Bailey are the only players who played in 50 per cent of their league fixtures this season who are definitely going to depart. Others, most notably Max Stryjek and Jack Fitzwater, could attract interest but are under contract so at least the club will be fairly compensated should they move on.
Of those who are out of contract, Sean Kelly and Jack Hamilton have both been offered new deals. The former developed into a holding midfielder for the final few games and you’d imagine he’d be interested in putting pen to paper. Hamilton, though, may well decide it’s time to seek first-team football elsewhere. Even then, the Lions would get development compensation for him.
In his four Premiership seasons at Livi, the youngster, who turns 22 next month, has started just four games and it’s difficult to see him forcing Bruce Anderson out of the side which leaves limited chances for him assuming Livi continue to play with a single central striker. Fifteen goals in 30 league appearances over two loan spells at Arbroath proves he’s a fine Championship forward and it may have to be a case of stepping down a division to ultimately become a top flight regular in the future.
Jack McMillan, Craig Sibbald and the club’s record appearance holder Keaghan Jacobs have already been confirmed as moving on while loanees Sebastian Soto, Adam Lewis and Caleb Chukwuemeka will depart and fans’ favourite veteran goalkeeper Gary Maley has announced his retirement.
Carlo Pignatiello, Matej Poplatnik and Gavin Reilly have spent the season out on loan and it’s hard to see the trio having any future at the club.
Which areas of the park need strengthened?
Livi have already confirmed pre-contract deals with former Hearts full-back Jamie Brandon, young Australian centre-back Phillip Cancar and Congo international defensive midfielder Scott Bitsindou.
Set-plays, both attacking and defending, were a huge negative for Livi last season so the addition of 6ft 4in Bitsindou should help there and there's every chance boss David Martindale is still looking to add more height and physicality to the side in other areas of the park.
That should be it in terms of defence and central midfield. The attacking third, however, is a different matter.
The lack of a genuine back-up to Anderson needs to be addressed and that could depend on whether Hamilton signs his new deal or looks elsewhere.
With Forrest and Bailey leaving, the wide areas are clearly the main positions needing strengthened. Joel Nouble has been impressive since his January return from a loan spell at Arbroath but there’s currently little else. Cristian Montano looked good at times but only started seven league games and would need to kick on massively to claim the left-wing slot, while Andrew Shinnie can play out wide but certainly is unlikely to be solely deployed there and had a largely up and down first season at the club.
Josh Mullin and Jaze Kabia return from loan spells and are under contract next season but it remains to be seen if they’ll be relied upon given they were surplus to requirements this season. Either way, at least one more option on both the left and right side is needed.
Can they keep hold of key players?
Ultimately, the answer is always no but Forrest and Bailey aside, the ones likely to attract interest are all under contract so the ball’s firmly in Livingston’s court.
The Lions should expect bids for Stryjek and Fitzwater, but they’re already well covered in those areas should either depart. Ivan Konovalov was signed in January with the belief Stryjek would move on and looked decent in his three late season appearances. Young American keeper Brian Schwake has earned plenty of plaudits during a loan spell at Edinburgh City and could no doubt back-up the Russian - or head out on loan once more if Martindale wants him to get game time.
Morgan Boyes and Cancar are centre-back options, not to mention Tom Parkes should he be able to return to fitness, if former West Brom youth product Fitzwater leaves West Lothian as he enters the final year of his contract.
Stephane Omeonga, at his best, is amongst the top central midfielders outside the top two in the division and may attract interest but suffered a dip in form in recent months while Anderson’s ankle injury probably prevents there being an offer for the 23-year-old this summer that Livi would deem too good to turn down.
What are next season's expectations?
Any Premiership season is going to start with Livingston viewing survival as success but their hopes should be higher than that heading into the 2022/23 campaign.
Back-to-back top six finishes was followed by seventh place this year so they’ve shown they firmly belong in the top flight.
In the last two seasons, however, they’ve endured horrible starts. The steadiness within the squad and the lack of drastic changes this summer will, you'd hope, have them well placed to avoid starting behind the 8-ball once again.
While it’s likely that both Aberdeen and Hibs will improve on sub-par performances this season, and Kilmarnock should be a decent addition to the top flight, it’s also possible that European excursions leave Dundee United and Motherwell struggling - especially early on.
This season has shown there’s really not much separating at least half a dozen sides in the Premiership so a solid start could ease some pressure early on and have the Lions looking to be in the top six mix.
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