DAVID MARTINDALE has urged his Livingston stars to grab their place in history and follow the Lions legends of 2004 at Hampden.

A meeting with St Mirren this afternoon is all that stands between Martindale's side and a shot at the Betfred Cup silverware.

And the Livi boss is determined to make the most of the opportunity at Hampden and clinch an emotional return to the National Stadium.

Martindale said: "It will be just thinking, 'I hope to God we get to this final'. Nobody remembers semi-finalists do they? So when you get to Hampden, all you are wanting to do is get to the final and when you get to the final all you want to do is win it.

"I don't think you really get a chance to enjoy the occasion, but a lot depends on the outcome if that makes sense.

"I have been to Hampden two or three times with Livingston, playing against Queen's Park, so we're used to playing at Hampden with no fans. It's normal.

"I think the game and the occasion will take over and you will be solely interested in the game. If I am leaving Hampden and I'm not in a final, I couldn't care how far I've came, I will be gutted we are not in final, gutted for the boys and gutted for the club.”

Livingston won the League Cup 17 years ago as goals from Derek Lilley and Jamie McAllister earned a 2-0 win over Hibernian.

And Martindale has challenged his side to emulate the achievements of Davie Hay's heroic Lions squad as Livingston target another crack at a major trophy.

He said: "I don’t think there is a month goes by that it hasn’t been mentioned. Honestly, people still talk about Stuart Lovell, the captain, the goal and that is something we would love to emulate to the boys.

"Go and make history lads. Really, this still gets talked about so much to this day and it is 16, 17 years later. It is fantastic so it does get spoken about."