Livingston boss David Martindale admits losing out on a top-half finish this season would be a “missed opportunity”.

The Lions had a solid start to their cinch Premiership season but have “hit a bump in the road” recently with just one win in their last eight games in all competitions.

With two cinch Premiership fixtures remaining before the split, the West Lothian side are in seventh place, one point behind Hibernian and five behind St Mirren.

Ahead of the home game against St Johnstone on Saturday, Martindale, speaking on Livingston’s YouTube channel, said: “Is it a missed opportunity if we don’t make the top six?

“Yes, I would definitely say that. We would only have ourselves to blame.

“It would be disappointing but I don’t think I would be putting this season down to being a failure at this point in time because the primary objective going into the season is to stay in the Premiership.

“But it would be a huge missed opportunity”.

St Johnstone have won just two of their last 15 games in all competitions and sit ninth, seven points ahead of bottom side Dundee United.

Martindale noted that Saints required a Premiership play-off final win against Inverness last season to retain top-flight status.

He said: “They are having a better season than what they were having last season.

“They have been a wee bit more inconsistent than ourselves, the points tally in the table tells you that. That’s fact. But I don’t think they are in a bad place.

“If you had offered this to the St Johnstone players before the season started they maybe would have taken it because it’s progression on last season.

“At the smaller clubs like ourselves, like St Johnstone, yes, we have hopes and ambitions, individual and group objectives to finish in the top-six but if they are anything like me, it is remaining in the Premiership which is the primary motivator”.