Russell is loving the way Livi play

LIVINGSTON striker Iain Russell admits he’s excited with the brand of football that John Hughes and John Collins have brought to the club.

And he’d love to give the Lions’ management duo a victory to go with their free-flowing style when they play host to Airdrie in the First Division this weekend.

The West Lothian side were unfortunate not to bag all three points in the season opener against Morton last weekend, a Tony Wallace goal ten minutes from time handing the home side a late share of the spoils.

But Russell believes that, if they continue to play their football in the manner that both Hughes and Collins are preaching, the results will follow on.

He said: “Obviously every team would love to be playing good passing football – it’s just about being brave enough to do it.

“As long as we are passing the ball around, John Hughes and John Collins are happy because they can see what we are trying to achieve.

“It is exciting and something that I have not been used to. Everything is focused on style and I think that can only be a good thing for us.

“The two of them are so passionate about football and playing football in a certain style. I am really enjoying that side of it.

“It’s a good platform for the players. I am the oldest in the team right now but we have got a lot of young boys in our squad and it is nice to see them being able to showcase their talents.

“It has created a good atmosphere in the dressing-room, everyone is enthusiastic in training and I think it is beginning to translate out onto the pitch in games. You can see that they boys are trying to do it, desperate to do well. We all want to win but we know that we are also capable of playing good football at the same time.”

The Lions will be hoping for a big crowd for their first home game of the new season and Russell knows that he and the rest of his team-mates have a big part to play in encouraging fans along.

He continued: “We’re not going to be setting ourselves any targets. Obviously everyone wants to win the league.

“Everyone is capable of beating everyone else and that is why it is so important to us that we win as many of our home games as possible. We lost it a bit last year and struggled at home.

“If you are winning your home games the fans are more likely to come to watch. A certain style of football will encourage people to buy tickets too, it’s just about getting the right balance because we know that it is important the supporters see us getting a few victories under our belts too.”