Simo Valakari is looking forward to locking horns with a streetwise manager, David Martindale, in St Johnstone’s Scottish Cup quarter-final.
The Perth boss has attended two recent Livingston home games to familiarise himself with the West Lothian team and their pitch.
The scouting mission has amplified his admiration for Saints’ Monday night opponents – and reaffirmed the areas his own side will need to improve in after their last experience on an artificial surface turned into an afternoon to forget.
“Livingston are at a similar level to us in the overall standings,” said Valakari.
“They are near the top of their league and we’re at the bottom of ours.
“They are at home and will feel the pressure is on the Premiership club going there.
“They have got a good manager who knows all the tricks and have some experienced, quality players.
“They will feel they have a great chance.
“We know that people will be expecting us to go there and lose.
“They will try to make it as much like a cup tie as possible – to be in our faces in front of their fans. They will try to use the advantage of the surface as well.
“I’ve watched their games against Morton and Raith Rovers.
“It’s funny, they put water on only one half of the pitch. They soaked it and the field was extremely fast.
“If you have a fast artificial pitch with a little water on top of it, the ball moves so quickly that it’s physically hard to get close to it.”
Rugby Park lesson
Valakari, who could have Victor Griffith and Benji Kimpioka back in his squad, added: “Before the Kilmarnock game (which ended up a 3-1 defeat) we went to just play a football match.
“But what we learned from that experience is that maybe you need to think a little bit about the personalities, whose bodies can cope with a different surface, who can change direction quicker.
“Then you need technical capabilities because the ball moves so quickly.
“You need to be able to control it.
“People talk about how well we play with the ball. But in this match, we need to defend well, we need to be solid and compact, not get frustrated.
“If they switch from side to side and can get a couple of crosses in, then we need to defend those moments.
“They have a goalkeeper who is very confident on his feet who can spread the ball. We want to press as high as possible, but sometimes we need to wait until the right moment to go and press.”
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