Gary Holt has promised that any Livingston players “on the beach” in the final weeks of the season will be destined for a swift exit in the summer.
Holt is adamant Livi will not take their foot off the gas despite assuring their Ladbrokes Premiership status prior to the split, insisting he will demand the same work ethic and determination that has characterised their campaign to date.
St Mirren, fighting for their lives in the relegation battle, are the visitors to the Tony Macaroni Arena on Saturday, but Holt has dismissed the notion that the encounter will mean more to Oran Kearney’s charges.
Holt added: “It’s important that we finish the season on a high. Some people will be leaving, some will stay and some want new contracts.
“We can’t afford to have five games where we just turn up with the shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops on, thinking we’re going to the beach. That won’t happen under my watch.
“You might not be staying here next year if that’s the case.
“It’s about doing your work. Our fans deserve that and the people behind the scenes here deserve that.
“The great thing is that I’ve seen the boys working hard this week – they want to keep putting in that hard graft, keep producing and proving people wrong.”
Holt has challenged his players to emerge unbeaten from their final five matches of a marvellous maiden season in the top-flight since 2006.
It was a fixture against the Buddies that kick-started their longest sequence without defeat, with their 2-0 win in Paisley last August – Holt’s first game in charge – sparking a seven-game streak.
He added: “Hopefully we can win on Saturday and that’ll start a wee five-game unbeaten run. That is the challenge we have laid down to the players: can we go the rest of the campaign without defeat?
“That would end the season on a really good note.”
Holt, meanwhile, vowed not to make wholesale changes to his side despite Livi’s safety, as he seeks to respect the sporting integrity of a fraught fight at the bottom.
He added: “We have a chance to give one or two players a bit more game time and have a look at them. However, we won’t make wholesale changes because it’s not fair on the other teams in the bottom six. I wouldn’t do that.”
