McPake is going nowhere says boss as Lions prepare to strengthen their squad before end of the transfer window

Jan 15 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

PAUL Hegarty has insisted James McPake won’t be leaving the club this month and will remain at the club to lead the Lions promotion charge.

And the Livingston boss has also revealed he is still hopeful of brining Rocco Quinn back to the club while he is also keen to have some new faces in his squad for the weekend’s First Division clash with Clyde.

He said: “Nothing new has happening with James and I think the chairman has clearly stated that he will be a Livingston player until the end of the season.

“On the transfer front we are still speaking to Rocco and his agent in a bid to get him here.

“We are also looking at a couple of players we’ve had training at the club for a few weeks and we hope to have a better indication of things by the end of the week.

“Hopefully something will come of it in time for the Clyde game as they’ve shown up well in training and its now just a case of speaking to their agents.”

Hegarty also seemed set to admit defeat in his side’s bid to bring free scoring Callum Elliot back to West Lothian.

He continued: “Callum’s gone back to Hearts where he played against Motherwell.

“We are still pursuing the matter but the longer it goes on the harder it gets.

“He did very well on loan here and if we could resurrect the deal I would be delighted.

“If we can’t get Callum back then getting another striker in would be a priority. Another position we’re looking to fill is a defender cum midfielder.”

Livi’s shock Scottish Cup exit to East Stirling earned the Lions a day off last Saturday but Hegarty has been keen to keep his stars sharp with a bounce game against SPL side Falkirk in midweek.

All eyes were on Italian striker Raffaele De Vita who played the full second-half as he nears full fitness following a cruciate ligament injury suffered on his pre-season debut.

And the Livi boss admits he is inching towards a first-team debut.

He said: “Rafa played the second-half in our closed doors game against Falkirk.

“He’s been looking fairly sharp in training and it’s just been a case of getting him games now and integrated with the first-team.”

Next up for the Lions is a clash against a Clyde side who have been playing well in recent weeks.

And Hegarty anticipates a tough battle.

He added: “I went to watch Clyde last weekend against Dunfermline and I felt they were unlucky not to take something from the game.

“John Brown’s got them well organised and they’ve bags of energy and enthusiasm and they can play so we expect a very tough game.”