Livingston midfielder Sam Stanton reckons being put to the sword by Sunderland can stand the Lions in good stead for their battle against the drop.
The West Lothian outfit made the most of last weekend’s break by taking on the English Premier League side in a closed-doors match at the Stadium of Light.
And even though David Hopkin’s side fell to a 3-0 defeat, on loan HIbs playmaker Stanton is adamant that they can draw a lot from the experience.
Second bottom Livingston will look to close the five point gap on Dumbarton by collecting a third win from four games in today’s visit of St Mirren.
Stanton said: “It was fantastic playing Sunderland, it was a great experience.
“Everyone really enjoyed it, it was great playing in a venue like the Stadium of Light and playing against such good opposition was a great experience.
“They had a strong team out with a lot of faces we all recognised so it was good to play against them.
“I directly came up against the likes of Fabio Borini and Lee Cattermole, they’re good players. It was fantastic and I really enjoyed it.
“You could see their class and it was great to have the opportunity to play against them, it’s not everyday you play against an English Premier League football team.
“I think Sam Allardyce was complimentary towards us as well, the players didn’t get a chance to speak to him because he was up in the stand watching but I think he said to the manager that he was surprised how well we played – that’s nice to near.
“It was a nice break, having the freedom to go and play with no pressure.”
Livingston are now looking upwards after moving ten points clear of basement side Alloa.
Stanton added: “We’ll try and get as many points as possible and try and catch Dumbarton and St Mirren – that’s the main focus.
“We’ve picked up a few good results in the last few games and we go into this weekend pretty confident.
“We have been playing quite well for a number of weeks now.”
