Livingston boss David Martindale says there will be a ‘special buzz’ at the Tony Macaroni Arena on Saturday after the club gifted over 4000 free tickets to the local community.
The Lions are set for a bumper crowd when they host Ross County with 4100 tickets being handed out to schools and organisations in the area.
It’s the first time the Lions have run the initiative this season, having done it for three fixtures in the previous campaign and the boss admits he’s looking forward to the occasion.
Speaking to the Courier, he commented: “There’s a big buzz about the place and that’s great to see. My wife Martha keeps getting messages from her pals saying that their kids are genuinely buzzing because they’ve got a ticket.
“That’s really nice to hear. There’s so many households in West Lothian that this impacts – it just goes to show you how much of an influence football can have. It’s brilliant.”
He added: “Last season when we had it, honestly, they made the difference. We got a late goal against Ross County to get a draw and it was amazing.
“It helped the players to have that size of a home support cheering them on and we were able to send them away happy. It’s a fantastic thing for the club to do.
“For us to be walking out into a crowd of 5000 or 6000 at a home game is really rare – especially in terms of it being a largely home crowd. There will be a special buzz on Saturday.”
The Lions head into the clash hoping to bounce back from a late defeat at the hands of St Mirren last week which saw Livi fall to a 90th minute winner despite playing against 10-men.
Martindale confessed it was tough to get over but is confident the players will bounce back.
He said: “It took me a while to get over that one. In some ways we didn’t deserve it but in some ways we did.
“I’m happy with 80 per cent of how the game went and how we played for large parts but we didn’t defend our box. It was unlucky to some degree but you’ve got to look at yourselves.
“Am I worried? Not at all. If the stats were flipped and we didn’t create the most chances or whatever and played poorly then maybe.
“But we played well for the most part and ultimately have ourselves to blame for not taking our chances at one end and not defending our box at the other.”
Cristian Montano is back training and could be available after missing the St Mirren clash but Jack Fitzwater (hamstring) and Esmael Goncalves (back) are doubts through injury.
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