FORMER Livingston boss Mark Proctor has revealed his frustration at not being allowed to rebuild the team by Pearse Flynn.
Proctor, axed last week on the arrival of new Italian owners, said former chairman Flynn would only release funds to end the transfer embargo once the club's First Division status had been confirmed.
However, even though Flynn, who sold the cl
ub for a reported £1, knew how much it would take to settle with Emmanuel Dorado to allow the Scottish Football League to lift the transfer embargo, he never paid it.
He decided to stop spending in the middle of last season and move on the club's star loan players, leaving Proctor not only unable to make transfers but also forced to blood several youngsters.
But Proctor helped Graham Dorrans win a £250,000 move to West Brom, made 17-year-old striker Leigh Griffiths into a player-of-the-month award winner and came within a whisker of winning a lucrative Scottish Cup quarter-final tie with Rangers.
Proctor said: "After we went on a bad run in December Pearse said he wanted to save his money for a big push next season. I agreed to release Jason Kennedy and Tomas Pesir and work with the youngsters. It was clear we weren't going to win the league, so I was quite happy to build towards my second season with the club. There is more quality in the close season transfer market as well.
"We brought on some great players and won a lot of fans with our style of play.
"But it became frustrating when I began to talk to players and make contact with agents. We had people interested in joining but they would always ask: 'When will the embargo be lifted?'
"However, I had a good rapport with the players and, given the chance, they could do well this year. I wish the club well."
Meanwhile, Livingston have confirmed the appointment of Italian Roberto Landi as their new manager. Landi has signed a two-year contract with the First Division club, who were taken over by an Italian consortium led by chairman Angelo Massone.
The former goalkeeper has coached the under-21 teams of Georgia, Lithuania and Qatar, and managed clubs in Hungary and Romania. He will be assisted by Davie Hay, the former Celtic and Livi manager, whose son-in-law, Tomasso Angelini, is part of the ownership group.
The full article contains 411 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
