Murphy struggling to find new talent for Livi

Jul 16 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

The search goes on as Murphy tries to put together his ideal squad for league opener

JOHN Murphy has admitted his search for new blood has proved fruitless so far as he welcomed another trio of trialists to Almondvale this week.

The Livingston boss revealed to the Courier none of the players training with the club hoping to win a full time deal have caught his eye but he remains hopeful of unearthing a gem.

He said: “The only way I will bring anyone in is if they can improve on what we have here. I won’t bring anyone in just so we have a new face in the group.

“A lot of managers like to bring in a wide range of trialists at this time of year but I think that can drive the quality down so I prefer to bring them into the club in groups of three.

“So far none of the players we’ve had in have turned my head but I’m impressed so far with the latest guys we brought in this week.”

In addition to a handful of new signings Murphy has pledged to give youth a chance this season.

He continued: “The youngsters at the club will get a chance this season. The standard is good but we also need to blood them for their own development.

“Obviously this won’t be done at the expense of results but we want to give them some experience.

“We can provide them with the infrastructure, resources and opportunities but they have to take it and prove they are up to it.”

Livingston’s preseason preparations kicked off with a creditable draw against Europe bound Falkirk at Almondvale on Saturday.

Murphy made use of a match day squad of 22 players on route to a goalless draw.

“I am pleased with how we fared on Saturday especially considering it was against SPL opposition, who are also in Europe next week, and our very first game of the season,” insisted Murphy.

“It was a good exercise and our core group got between 45 to 60 minutes while we also gave a host of youngsters a taste of football at that level.

“We came out of the game in healthy shape with no injury concerns which was also a bonus.

“We left Danny Griffin out of the match purely as a precaution. I felt it would be better to give him a rest to prepare for the next game against Montrose tonight.

“I’ve tried to do my homework on Montrose and have made some calls around.

“However, it is hard as there is a lot of turnaround in clubs over the summer and very tough to get an accurate read on anyone.

“You can’t take last season’s league placing into consideration as it is preseason now and so many changes with players fighting for their jobs.”