Livingston boss David Martindale has urged his players to secure their top six place and allow themselves to enjoy the remainder of the season.
The Lions have stumbled of late as they enter Saturday’s home clash with Hamilton on the back of a six-game winless streak.
However, a point at the weekend would see the club claim a top-half finish for the second successive season for the first time in their history.
The boss admits nerves have played their part in recent weeks but has urged them to get themselves over the line.
Speaking to the Courier, he said: “There’s been a wee bit of nervousness amongst the boys about finishing top six and, with hindsight, we’ve had an adverse reaction from the cup final and leading up to it.
“We’ve got two home games coming up which hopefully should see us settle a wee bit and I think if we can get over the line, you’ll see that. You’ll see the nerves disappear and they can enjoy the rest of the season.
“The fact we’re in this position is testament to them and I’ve had to tell them that it’s a marathon and not a sprint.
“If we’d finished ninth, I’d have classed it as a success, but to be at this stage of the season with the chance of being in the top six, we need to cement it.
“Let’s just settle down and believe in what we can do because we’re a good side.
“A point secures it so we can’t be gung-ho and go out desperate to win the game because when you play like that, you leave yourself more vulnerable
at the back.”
Martindale also admits that securing a top six berth would allow him to build towards next season – both in terms of personnel and style.
He said: “We need to adapt in the Premiership. You can’t just keep doing the same things and it’s a process that we’ll be able to put more focus on if we’re able to get that top six spot.
“There’ll be some wee changes over the next few weeks with an eye on next season.
“We need to be able to introduce and adapt to different styles of play and systems.”
Martindale also confirmed that the club will be picking up the one-year options on both Nicky Devlin and Jon Guthrie but admitted Gavin Reilly’s season could be in doubt.
The striker suffered a hamstring tear during last week’s clash with Rangers.
