Boss Hopkin praises players after Livingston secure back-to-back promotions

Livi beat Partick Thistle 1-0 at Firhill to claim a 3-1 aggregate victory over the two legs of the play-off final and secure a return to the top flight after 12 years away.

Keaghan Jacobs scored the only goal of the second leg, but Livingston were always in control as they capped off a remarkable season that saw them finish second in the Championship following promotion from the third tier.

'It's fantastic,' head coach Hopkin said. 'I said before the game that we knew it would be a tough ask to come here and hold out for a draw, and it proved that way but I have to give great credit to my players for the whole season.

'To go and win over two legs at Dundee United and then at Partick Thistle is a magnificent achievement.

'I asked the players at half-time to give me another 45 minutes, because if you think this is hard then it will be even more difficult next season.

'They rose to the challenge, scored a fantastic goal and gave us something to hang on to.

'The longer the game went on, I knew we weren't going to concede.'

The promotion means Hopkin has led the West Lothian club to two promotions in his two full seasons in charge, and he admitted afterwards that the achievement surpassed anything from his own playing career - which saw him capped by Scotland and enjoy a lengthy spell in the English Premier League.

'Of course it does,' he said. 'As a player on the pitch you can do something to make the game better, but as a manager I just sat and watched the second half because I knew I could trust my players.

'I've only been in charge fully for two years now, and I've had two promotions, so it's been fantastic.

'This is better than winning the league because we have done it the hard way. I cannot speak highly enough of the players, the fans and the board.'

He added: 'I would never have thought we'd be here. The players and the staff work extremely hard, but no-one thought we'd get to the Premiership.'

The win for the Lions means Thistle drop out of the top flight for the first time since promotion back in 2013.

They finished the regular season with the fewest goals in the Premiership and never looked like scoring on a wet afternoon in Glasgow, and manager Alan Archibald accepted his side

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