Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Napoli and FC Basel has whetted Livingston’s appetite for European football.
That’s according to boss David Martindale after the Lions shared the same Turkish complex with the European giants during this week’s winter training camp.
Livi defeated Latvian side FK Liepaja 4-1 on Monday afternoon and will take on Dutch top flight side Fortuna Sittard tomorrow before returning to the cold of a Scottish December ahead of their league clash with Dundee United next weekend.
European camps have been a regular thing for the Tony Macaroni Arena outfit since their promotion to the SPFL Premiership four years ago and it has seen them take on clubs such as Ajax and Anderlecht.
But, given their near misses in terms of European qualification in the past two seasons and their impressive start to this campaign, Martindale admits that he’s desperate to lead the Lions on the continental stage.
He said: “The camp’s been good. The hotel has been first-class and the training facilities have been very good also. There are a lot of teams over here: FC Basel, Napoli, Liepaja and Fortuna Sittard.
“You look at Motherwell last year, St Johnstone previously and Hearts and it is one of the sticking points. It’s something I would love to try and do – take Livingston into a European competition.
“We have played some big teams over the years in friendlies – Anderlecht, Ajax, Vitesse Arnhem when Martin Odegaard was playing with them. That really whets your appetite. It takes you out of your comfort zone as you’ve got to find a way to win the game.”
He added: “You are up against different opponents and managers. It’s probably the one thing in the Scottish Premiership, playing each other four times and maybe also in the cups, it can be a wee bit familiar.
“As a club we probably weren’t structurally ready for Europe in the past in that we didn’t have the Club Academy Scotland system. Qualifying for Europe and getting into Europe might have been two different things.
“But now the club on and off the field is in a good place in terms of structure so if we were fortunate enough to finish in a European spot we would be ready in terms of having our CAS up and running.”
Martindale also admitted he will be sitting down with trialist Steven Bradley over the coming days to discuss the possibility of making a move for the Hibs man.
The 20-year-old – who spent last season on loan at Ayr United and Irish side Dundalk – has been deemed surplus to requirements at Easter Road.
Martindale said: “He’s only a young kid who’s not played a lot of men’s football. Steven’s probably one of those ones from my point of view that is probably in an age range that I need in the building.
“He can play on the left or the right. He’s not going to come in and hit the ground running with Livingston but he’s one I’ll maybe look to bring in and put back out on loan. He’s a nice kid and I’ve really enjoyed chatting to him.
“I will sit down with him and see what he thinks. When you bring a boy in on trial, it’s not just about me having a look at them, it’s about them having a look at us and how I work.
“Steven might feel he’s got better first-team opportunities elsewhere.”
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