Landi puts bust up behind him

Aug 7 2008 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

LIVINGSTON manager Roberto Landi has drawn a line under the row which overshadowed the weekend’s defeat in Perth.

A touchline bust-up between Landi and Saints boss Derek McInnes, at the end of the Lions 2-0 defeat, dominated the press at the turn of the week but the Italian wants to move on.

He said: “I apologise for the little problem with the St Johnstone manager on Saturday.

“I have never been suspended or banned in my time as a manager in any of the countries I’ve worked in and it is not my style to have rows.

“During the match I felt something was wrong but maybe I misunderstood something and I’ve apologised and hope to forget about it.

“I’ve read about in the press all week and I hope to move on now.”

Despite the off-the-field incident Landi insists there was plenty on the pitch for him to be happy about.

“I’m not happy with Saturday’s result but I felt we played quite well. During the match we played very good football and had at least three or four clear-cut chances to score.

“Griffiths and Davidson had good chances but we were playing against a strong team who are built to win the league.

“We conceded one goal which could have been offside and a penalty in injury time.

“I’m happy that in our first match away from home we played the same way as we have at home and tried to win.

“The team tried to play without fear and the only negative is the result.

“I can see the team improve with every match and I hope we can have a good future.”

Livingston’s pursuit of Hearts’ Anthony Basso has been well documented and Landi admits he is no nearer landing the keeper despite regular contact with the Edinburgh club.

He added: “We have a position open for Basso as we only have one goalkeeper.

“The one (Martini) we have is a very good young goalkeeper but we need another with experience.

“Our first choice is Anthony Basso as I know him personally, and his quality, but it’s hard to get him.

“Everyday it’s different as one day we are told we can have him but the next day we receive a phone call saying we can’t.

“I think Basso could make the team jump quality to the top level.”