Angelo: I'll bring back Euro glory days to Livi

Jun 8 2008 By Scott Mcdermott

NEW Livingston owner Angelo Massone claims he can lead the Almondvale club back into the SPL and Europe.

The Italian lawyer breezed into West Lothian last week after saving the Lions from extinction with a £400,000 investment.

His next step will be appointing Roberto Landi as manager then buying their home ground.

Massone has a huge job on his hands trying to take the First Division side to the top end of Scottish football - four years after they won the CIS Cup at Hampden and qualified for the UEFA Cup.

But he's adamant a return to that level is possible and with the addition of new players he's confident Landi is theman to take them there.

Angelo said: "Our main aim is to get the club back to the level they were at when they won the CIS Cup and played in Europe.

"We want to make it possible for that to happen again.

"It's not good for Livingston to stay in the SFL - nor is it financially viable for us.

"We have to put a strong team together. If we have that the fans will come here again.

"Bringing in impressive names is fine but we need to find the perfect player for this club.

"If he's capable it's possible we could get a big signing.

"I know Dundee once bought Fabrizio Ravanelli but he has finished playing so won't be coming!"

Massone was the man who helped take Shunsuke Nakamura from Perugia to Celtic three years ago but he's more likely to bring young Italians to Almondvale.

And Angelo warned Livi fans they could move from their home to a smaller stadium soon.

He said: "We'll take care of that after we buy the stadium. It's not possible to move right now but maybe in the future.

"Italian clubs have big structural problems I find difficult to work with so I'm happier here.

"If we can buy young Italian players and they bring a positive element to the team then why not?"