WE'LL BE TAKEN TO CLEANERS IF LIVI FO DOWN

JASON DAIR fears relegation for Livingston will dump everyone from cleaners to office staff on the dole.

The midfielder knows it's more than just players' jobs on the line if the club suffers the financial nightmare of dropping out the top flight.

He admits it has been made clear jobs WILL go if they can't claw back the seven point gap at the bottom of the SPL.

It's a huge task and just getting three points this afternoon will be equally tough with Hearts heading to Almondvale looking to keep their Champions League bandwagon rolling.

But it was against Jambos at this time last year that Livi kick-started a similar turnaround to beat the drop at the expense of Dundee.

Now Dair (left) knows how crucial a repeat performance could be to save their season AND the jobs of the everyday club staff who are counting on them.

Dair said: "We had meetings with Paul Lambert and the chairman and realised it's not just our survival we're talking about - it's EVERYBODY at the club including people behind the scenes you don't see.

"It's about the receptionists, kitchen workers, office staff, everybody. They are all relying on us and it will be tough if we let them down.

"If it was to happen then you have to look these people in the eye and feel you're responsible.

"Hopefully it won't come to that. The town is behind us and desperate for us to survive.

"You feel it even more on a Saturday. We don't play to full houses but the fans who come are so supportive.

"We don't feel the pressure just now, e're just trying our best as we've done all season. We've been a bit unlucky but that's the way it goes sometimes.

"Hopefully the new manager will change our luck."

While the visit of incoming gaffer John Robertson's former club adds an extra dimension to today's live Setanta clash, Dair is drawing encouragement from a game when Robbo was in charge of Jambos a year ago.

Jason scored an equaliser as Livi lost 3-1 at Tynecastle - and still looks back on the team's second-half performance as the boost that convinced them they could play their way out of trouble.

He said: "We were great in the second half then went on a wee run that kept us up.

"We realised that day we were a decent team. Things had been going against us but that match at Tynecastle showed us what we were capable of.

"Hopefully a similar performance and three points against Hearts here would spur us on for the rest of the season.

"Beating Hearts these days ranks up there with dumping Rangers or Celtic.

"They've proved they're one of the top teams in Scotland. Not many sides have beaten them this season but I've done well against them in the past."

Dair bagged the only goal as Dunfermline beat the Jambos in November 2000 then scored again three months later at Tynecastle - only for Pars to lose 7-1!

This time he doesn't care about hitting the net just as long as Livi are smiling at the final whistle.

He said: "Victory would be great psychologically but the manager has been trying to get the boys lifted since he came.

"We were feeling a bit down and he's been trying to get confidence up. Robbo's made a difference - he's always so upbeat and is trying to convey that to the players. I hope it rubs off today.

"It definitely helps having boys who were in this situation last season.

"We can survive again. After the split you're playing against each other at the bottom and it doesn't take long to get back in among the pack with a couple of wins.

"Unfortunately we've only won two games all season and it's about time we turned it around."

Taken from the Sunday Mail