SCOTT TIFFONEY admits he felt like a ‘wee boy’ when he first arrived at Livingston.
However, the promising 20-year-old is determined to prove he has come of age as Gary Holt prepares to pitch the waspish winger into the Premiership run-in.
Tiffoney joined the Lions from Morton last summer on a free transfer but was immediately loaned back to the Cappielow for the first half of the campaign, notching three goals in 12 outings for the Greenock men.
He was given an opportunity to shine for Livi at the start of 2019, turning out against Rangers, Motherwell and Kilmarnock, only for an untimely hamstring injury derailed his progress. Nevertheless, he is adamant his switch to West Lothian has seen him come on leaps and bounds.
And with Livingston already safe in the top-flight, Tiffoney is expected to be handed a chance to make up for lost time in their final four fixtures of the campaign.
Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Hamilton, he said: “I feel as if I have come a really long way since I came back to the club at the start of the year. I am training a lot harder and we have a lot of gym work as well, so I have bulked up over the past few months.
“At the start of the season I was like a wee boy compared to some of the other lads! But it isn’t like that anymore.
“The bottom line is you don’t last long at this club if you don’t put the work in.
“You are playing alongside and against a better standard of player and I feel like my game is progressing.
“These last four games gives guys like myself a chance to go and try and impress the gaffer. I haven’t had as much game time as I’d like so this is an opportunity to show what I can do.”
Accies are scrapping for their lives at the foot of the Premiership but Tiffoney has dismissed the notion that the fixture will mean comparatively less to Livi, insisting the fringe Lions are playing for their futures.
Marker
Tiffoney is contracted to the Almondvale outfit until the summer of 2020 and is determined to start laying down a marker for next season.
He added: “Some people might say that we have nothing left to play for but that’s not the way any of us are looking at it.
“I have a year left on my contract so I want to go out and show the gaffer that I can be a regular for him next season.
“I always try and get into the team but because we have been doing so well I can’t really go and chap his door and ask why I’m not playing every week.
I need to prove myself when I get the chance.”
