PARTICK THISTLE manager Alan Archibald has called upon his players to show they are brave enough to outplay Livingston and save their place in the Premiership.

The Firhill boss was angry at his team’s performance as they went down to a 2-1 defeat in the first leg of the play-off final at the Tony Macaroni Arena on Thursday night.

Their punishment was to watch the whole thing again on Friday morning, and as anyone who was there would testify, that experience would leave them feeling suitably chastised.

What the Thistle manager took from the video nasty though was that his players didn’t show enough courage to get their foot on the ball and get their passing game going, and he believes that will be the key to overcoming David Hopkin’s ferociously combative Lions.

“We’ve watched the game back and we just didn’t play our game at all,” Archibald said. “That was partly down to Livingston not letting us and partly through bad decision making.

“The players are an honest bunch. They watched it back themselves. They know they let themselves down – we all did – we just need to make sure we’re better on Sunday.

“It’s as big as it gets. It’s down to one game to stay in the league. We know what we need to do. We have to win the game. It’s as simple as that.

“They’ve got to be brave to everything. But bravery means more when you go and show for the ball – not going in for a tackle.

“We need to be brave by showing for it and wanting to play. It’s a big pitch out there so we’ve got to make sure we use it.

“There are two positives. We’re still in it and have another chance at it. And we can’t play any worse than that individually and collectively as a team. It can’t get any worse than that. We need to make sure it’s much, much better.

“You have to show that grit and determination to make sure you stay in this league.”

Archibald is no stranger to the play-off experience, witnessing Thistle’s heartbreaking defeat to Dundee United in 1996 as a young apprentice at the club.

He will be using Owen Coyle’s devastating late goal as a cautionary tale to his men to warn them that tomorrow’s do-or-die encounter may go right down to the wire.

“I remember that vividly, it was probably one of my worst experiences,” he said.

“I’m well aware of how quickly things can change with just one kick of the ball or a last-minute goal.

“That’s how things change in football, it can be a tackle or a decision or anything. We need to be sure that our performance levels and concentration levels are really good.”

Archibald is hoping that he may be able to call upon one or two seasoned campaigners who were unable to play on Thursday night through injury, particularly as he has some fresh knocks to contend with.

“We are going to have to mix it up no doubt because of injuries,” he said.

“We had a few injuries last night and that will come into play. Chris Erskine never made the bench, Christie Elliott just made the bench, Abdul Osman wasn’t fit, and all of them are 50/50.

“We’re hoping they will be able to play, and Niall Keown is another one as well who just missed out as well. Hopefully they have got a chance, because a couple of guys picked up knocks last night into the bargain.

“They are desperate to play, but if they are not right then they are not right. It’s important that we’ve got guys who are 100% committed to the cause and make sure we get the best out of them.”