Steven Bradley is braced for a gruelling summer as he bids to kick-start his Livingston career next term after admitting he has not performed well enough since arriving in January.

The 21-year-old joined the Lions on a two-and-a-half-year deal midway through the season after previous club Hibernian allowed him to leave in search of regular game time.

Winger Bradley has started 13 matches for Livingston, but he is disappointed with his form and feels he has a lot more to offer than he has shown so far.

“I started off really well,” he said. “The first few games we were winning but since then I’ve not been at my best. I’ve not been consistent enough personally. I’m trying to improve every day and get better but it is hard at times.

“Sometimes if I’ve not had the best game, I think about what I can do to change it. It’s about trying to find a way to improve every day in training and become more consistent in games.

“It affects you when you’re not playing at your best because you go home after a game and look back and think ‘I wish I’d done this different, I wish I’d done that different’ and that plays on your mind.

“It can be frustrating at times but I’m still young and I feel like I’ve got time to improve and make my game better and become more consistent. That’s my aim personally.

“I’m confident it will start to click next season. I’ve got a big summer ahead where I’ll be working on things I can improve, especially the physical side of my game, my strength. I’ve been given a plan so I’ll be in the gym a lot over the summer. It’s all about doing the right things in the summer.”

Livingston, who had hopes of qualifying for Europe a few months ago, have slipped to eighth in the cinch Premiership after losing eight of their last 11 league games, but Bradley is hoping they can enjoy a strong finish to the campaign, starting with Saturday’s match at home to bottom-of-the-table Dundee United.

“I’m looking forward to the next three games,” said Bradley. “We’re all determined to get nine points out of the three games so hopefully I can contribute to that and play much better than I have been.”

Andrew Shinnie is relishing his leadership role within the Livingston squad after he signed on earlier this week for a third season with the West Lothian club.

The 33-year-old joined the Lions in 2021 and manager David Martindale sees the former Inverness, Birmingham and Luton midfielder as one of the senior figures in a dressing room that is about to lose captain Nicky Devlin – among others – under freedom of contract this summer.

Shinnie, who penned a one-year extension to the end of next term, is aware he might not be the first name on the team-sheet every week, but he is happy to help guide his younger colleagues.

“We’ll probably lose a couple of important players but Davie and the staff will hopefully recruit some gems like they normally find, and we’ve also got the nucleus of a strong squad that will still be here,” said Shinnie.

“As a senior pro, I want to really help the group kick on next year, on and off the park.

“I’ve spoken about it with Davie and I know I might not play as regularly as I’d have wanted when I was younger but I’ll still be doing my all to be on the pitch every week and if not, I’ll be there to try to push the boys on and support them in every way.”

Asked if leadership came naturally to him, Shinnie – whose brother Graeme is the captain of Aberdeen – said: “Probably, yes, but I’ve definitely developed it since I came to Livingston.

“There are quite a lot of young players here so I’ve taken that onus on. Davie’s helped me with it as well, he’s put a lot of responsibility on me, so I definitely think I’ve developed it.

“I think boys feel comfortable pulling me for little chats if they need advice or whatever, and I’ve quite enjoyed that side of it since I came here.

“You need to take that ownership as a more older, senior player to be there for the group and try and be a calming influence at rough times because football can be difficult. You need to be level-headed.”

Shinnie is currently trying to guide his team-mates through their toughest spell of the season. The Lions head to Kilmarnock on Saturday on the back of a run of eight defeats in 11 games in all competitions.

“We were really disappointed to miss out on the top six after having such a good two-thirds of the season,” said Shinnie. “We’ve tailed off a bit at the wrong time which has killed us.

“We’re still a couple of points ahead in seventh and we want to finish best of the rest (top of the bottom six).

“Killie are another team fighting for their lives and they have a great home record so it’s going to be hard. It’s another challenge for us.”

Livingston manager David Martindale says some members of his squad should not be surprised if they are dropped for the trip to Kilmarnock following their performances in a 2-0 defeat by Ross County.

The Lions started as the better of the two teams in Dingwall but could not find a breakthrough to make the most of their momentum.

Either side of half-time County did find the net through Alex Iacovitti and Alex Samuel – and in the end it was a comfortable victory for the Staggies.

That comfort level left Martindale unimpressed, and he thought some of his players looked as though they had nothing left to play for this season.

“I don’t think up until the first goal the boys were off it, but giving the cheap goal away saw Ross County grow in confidence,” he said.

“There was more desire and intensity from Ross County than us after the goal, so we need to find our feet very quickly.

“We will be playing against other teams who are fighting against relegation, and we have to match that desire that those players will have. It’s my job to make sure the players find that.

“We have four games left now, and if most of the guys got dropped next week I don’t think they could have much to say about it.

“Our squad depth is a challenge at this point, but it’s up to me and my staff to find a solution and we’re more than capable of doing that.”

Martindale’s opposite number Malky Mackay, on the other hand, was delighted with Ross County’s display.

Coming off the back of a two-week wait for redemption after a 6-1 drubbing bby Hearts, Mackay was heartened by his players closing the gap at the bottom of the cinch Premiership table to a single point.

“We only haven’t been at it twice this season, and Hearts was one of them,” he said.

“In most games it has been close, we have been in and around it. Every team we have played, we have made it tough whether we win or lose – so I was really disappointed with that performance.

“It was really important that in the first of the two-week break, we got them back in and put a shoulder around them. They were battered and bruised, in terms of their reputation and they were disappointed.

“Against Livingston, we again made it difficult for a team. I’ve got a group here that will fight to the last to make sure we stay in this division.”