Pereira looks for new lease of life at Lions

LIVINGSTON new boy Ramon Pereira is desperate to forget the nightmare end to his spell with Hearts by proving a success at Almondvale.

The 26-year-old was snapped up by the then Tynecastle boss Craig Levein last summer and looked set to make a huge impact for the Gorgie side.

However, when Levein left for Leicester, Pereira fell out of favour under new boss John Robertson and spent the final few months of his time in the Capital with the reserves.

The former Raith striker's bad luck continued when he saw a move to Nottingham Forest fall through after the English side's relegation to League One.

But after much soul-searching over the close-season the skilful marksman is ready to fight for his place at Livingston after signing a two-year deal.

He said: "My first thought was to play in Spain or England but then Nottingham Forest were relegated and I spoke to David Fernandez and Manu Dorado about Livingston and Paul Lambert and decided to come here.

"The last six months in Hearts were difficult because I didn't play under John Robertson. It was a pity for me when Craig Levein went because I played in all the games with him.

"But I don't want to speak about Hearts. It was the decision of the manager and he was a good person and a good manager. But that was his decision.

"When I was in Spain with my family I decided 'why not play one more year in the SPL?'

"Livingston are a good club, with a good manager, so I decided to come here and I'm only thinking about Livingston and not Hearts now."

Taken from the Scotsman