Scottish Premiership: Livingston v Aberdeen - game called off amid heavy rain

1. Game called off 10 minutes after scheduled kick-off
2. Referee Steven McLean conducted prolonged pitch inspection
3. Game was previously postponed on 30 December

A damp squib on a very wet evening.

Look out for reaction from the managers on the site after that late, late call-off.

Let's hope it's drier by the time the weekend rolls around for our next fix of football.

Cheerio for now.

Err... Second time unlucky

That's twice this game has been postponed now. It was snow and ice on 30 December and now we have torrential rain.

Cue the jokes about all-weather pitches... Seriously though, the ball was hardly moving on the surface and the officials are right to err on the side of caution.

There's not an awful lot of space in the fixture calendar to squeeze games in.

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Managers Derek McInnes and David Martindale in conversation by the side of the soggy pitch

Game postponed

That's it. The game is off.

If anything, the rain is getting heavier.

What a bummer.

Lots of head-shaking now. It's not looking good...

Is it safe?

Willie Miller

Former Aberdeen captain on BBC Sportsound

They can only be discussing if it's safe for the players. I don't know how long they can talk for. The rain isn't stopping, there's an amber warning, so that has to be taken into consideration

Managers called in for a chat

Referee Steven McLean is now deep in conversation with both managers by the side of the pitch.

Will they start and see how it goes?

Rain delay

No, it's not a cricket match...

Referee Steven McLean is still doing his checks out there, so if we do kick off, it's going to be late.

The bounce is pretty much non-existent when he throws the ball up in the air.

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Referee Steven McLean goes through a thorough pitch inspection

Late check on the pitch

Uh-oh... The match officials are out on the pitch, testing how the ball is rolling on the soggy surface.

It looks okay for now but the rain is still tumbling down.

Rain will bring 'zip into the game' - Martindale

Livingston manager David Martindale tells BBC Sportsound: "It's a not a bad night for a game of football.

"It's wet, it's really wet, but I think it's going to help the ball and it's going to put a wee bit of zip into the game.

"It's going to be a right tough test tonight, I've got a lot of respect for Derek McInnes and Aberdeen.

"I'd love nothing more than to be out there playing with the boys. I feel like I'm on the park and I'm probably more vocal than most."

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What happened last time?

Livingston fell to the bottom of the league after losing out to Aberdeen at Pittodrie back in August.

Having been beaten 2-1, the Lions were left with two points from their first five games.

Lewis Ferguson's penalty and a Scott Wright strike had the Dons cruising before Scott Pittman pulled one back.

Aberdeen also scored twice on their last visit to these parts, with Andrew Considine on target and Sam Cosgrove converting a late spot-kick in a 2-0 win on 21 September 2019.

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Lewis Ferguson scored from the penalty spot in a win over Livingston earlier this season

Dons can 'grind it out'

Willie Miller

Former Aberdeen captain on BBC Sportsound

I've watched Aberdeen play not particularly well against Livingston but always managing to get the win. Derek (McInnes) is really good at grinding out results.

Aberdeen enjoy tussles with Livi of late

If Livingston are to make it a magnificent seven league wins in a row they will need to beat Aberdeen for the first time since 2004.

The Dons, who have just one win from their last four Premiership outings, are unbeaten in 13 meetings with tonight's opposition, winning 10 of those.

Pitch just about playable - McInnes

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes tells BBC Sportsound: "The pitch isn't great to be honest. Livingston are doing everything they can to get the water off it.

"Now that we're here, we want to get the game on. I think it's just about playable now but who knows? I don't think it has to be pretty. We need to roll our sleeves up.

"Livingston are on a fantastic run. We've got a good record against Livingston. All the games we've won, we've had to work extremely hard."

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Ground staff work to remove surface water

Rain, rain go away...

The rain is absolutely hosing down in West Lothian, battering off the plastic pitch.

Livi boss waits for new 'fit and proper' hearing

While he keeps churning out great results, David Martindale is awaiting a new date for a Scottish FA hearing into whether he passes the fit and proper test to be Livingston's manager.

His footballing journey has been far from conventional, having served four years in prison for his involvement in organised crime and completing a degree in construction project management before turning to coaching.

A hearing on Monday was cancelled at short notice as the football authorities decided on a three-week suspension of the lower leagues and non-league calendar.

"It was a little bit frustrating but totally understandable in the current climate," he said.

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Martindale started helping out at Livingston on a voluntary basis back in 2014

'Breakthrough season for Wright'

Willie Miller

Former Aberdeen captain on BBC Sportsound

You hope that Scott Wright is able to concentrate on giving his best for Aberdeen. This has been his best season, his breakthrough really

McInnes resigned to Wright departure

Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes revealed yesterday that Rangers are keen on attacking midfielder Scott Wright, who will be out of contract in the summer.

The 23-year-old, who keeps his starting place tonight, made his Dons debut back in 2014 but has been dogged by injury set-backs and has only really begun to deliver on his promise this season.

"I think there is more than just one club interested, but Rangers have illustrated that they have an interest in Scott and they could do a pre-contract with Scott really any time," said McInnes.

"I've resigned myself over the last few months that the likelihood was that Scott was leaving at the end of the season, nothing has really changed on that."

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Scott Wright has scored twice in 17 appearances this term

Smells like team spirit at Livingston

Neil McCann

Former Hearts & Rangers winger on BBC Sportsound

What David Martindale has done is remarkable and you can see the team spirit when they score goals. They are just really together

Martindale puts focus on exploiting weaknesses

David Martindale has won his first eight games as Livingston boss and can equal a club record - which was set in League One four years ago - with another victory this evening.

He is making this managerial lark look easy, so what is his secret?

The game plan tends to be straightforward, with everyone grafting exceptionally hard and an emphasis on getting the ball forward as quickly as possible and pouncing on mistakes.

"We always go out and try and play our game, try and impose our style of play on the opposition," Martindale said yesterday.

"We don't really focus too much on the opposition's strengths, we will focus on the opposition's weaknesses, or what we perceive as their weaknesses. I'm a great believer that you have to focus on the positives. If you start talking about negatives, that can then turn into a negative mindset."

Kennedy & McCrorie back for Dons

Aberdeen make two changes to their line-up following Sunday's defeat by Rangers with Matty Kennedy and Ross McCrorie starting.

McCrorie was ineligible against his parent club at the weekend while Kennedy came off the bench to score in the Dons' 2-1 defeat.

Ryan Hedges is suspended after that sending off at Pittodrie and striker Sam Cosgrove drops to the bench.

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Kennedy scored for Aberdeen against Rangers on Sunday