Livingston boss hails striker's impact as 'like a new signing'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Livingston boss David Martindale insists fans are starting to see the real Kurtis Guthrie.The striker’s displays have markedly improved so far this term following a dismal debut campaign in which the 30-year-old failed to net in 18 appearances after scoring a debut goal in a League Cup clash with Dundee United.He also ended the season with a petulant red card just eight minutes after coming off the bench in a 2-0 defeat to Ross County.That caused many to believe he’d be shown the door at the Tony Macaroni Arena during the summer, but Martindale says some frank conversations – and the bonus of having a year of Scottish football under his belt – have started to bring out the best in him.Speaking to the West Lothian Courier, Martindale said: “We had some honest, genuine conversations at the tail end of last year and so far this season.“There was a point where I’d have let him walk out the building but when I stripped it all back, I’d have just been having to recruit the same profile.“I needed a no.9 who was different to Bruce Anderson.

His game is all about in the box whereas I need a striker who can do the work outside of the box as well. Ideally you're wanting someone to do both but it's hard to get that - Lyndon Dykes is probably really the only one who has done that."So if I let Kurtis leave, I’d have been trying to sign a player that fits the exact profile of Kurtis."He added: “He was great when he came in on trial and I thought he started well then picked up an injury and never really got back to it.

What I would say is that I think we undersell this level quite a lot of time. People relate it to finances. He can pick up more money in the National League, maybe even the tier below, and they relate ability level to