Sean Kelly prides himself in being Livingston’s Mr. Versatile – but confesses that could be seen as a negative in some people’s eyes as he prepares for tonight’s League Cup clash with Inverness.
The former St Mirren and Ross County man put pen to paper on a new two-year deal in the summer after forcing his way into the side as a central midfielder towards the latter stages of last season.
The 28-year-old has spent most of his career playing defensively in either the centre or left-back areas, but excelled further up the park during the closing games last term.
However, while he admits he feels most comfortable in that role now, he simply wants to help the team out regardless of where he’s asked to play.
He said: “I’m happy to be here and looking to kick on. Obviously I got more game time at the back end of last season and hopefully I can get that going forward this year.
“I think my versatility was a good thing towards the end of the year but I think if you play too many positions you run the danger of being the guy who just moves about all the time, but I don’t feel like that.”
He added: “I feel comfortable anywhere on the pitch. I’ve played a number of different positions in my career and started out as a left winger then ended up playing centre-half.
“It’s not a bad thing. I pride myself on the fact that I can play anywhere and do a job for the team in several different positions, but there is a negative connotation that comes with that sometimes. You can end up being a jack of all trades, master of none.”
He added: “I’d probably say I prefer central midfield now as my preferred position. I do feel that it suits me to pass the ball, but if you’d asked me three years ago when I was playing wide, I’d have probably said centre-half.
“I’ve really enjoyed playing central midfield for Livingston but anywhere I’m needed, I feel like I can do a job there for the team.”
Kelly is hopeful his side can progress into the knock-out stages of the Premier Sports Cup, but admits there’s also a balance between that and preparing for the bread and butter of a top flight campaign. He’s also under no illusions that tonight’s opponents will be keen to claim a top flight scalp after falling short of Premiership promotion last term.
He said: “The opportunity is there. If you get through the group you’re not that far away from Hampden and then once you’re there anything can happen.
“It won’t be taken lightly, but there’s got to be some sort of rotation because boys aren’t used to the schedule and demands and playing midweek yet.
“No disrespect to Albion because they put us under a lot of pressure but this will be a step up. There’s a lot of boys in their team who have played Premiership football before and a couple who have played international so we’re under no illusions that it will be a difficult game.
“They’ll be disappointed at having missed out on promotion, especially after the momentum they had at the end of the season. They’ll be taking the positives from that and looking to kick on this season.
“The Championship looks pretty open this year and they’ll be looking to get off to a good start and if they can beat us then it would give them a real confidence boost.”
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