Q&A with Alasdair MacNeill

• How long have you been helping to maintain all things web related for the club?

How can I put this diplomatically? Having been banned from the stadium as “an enemy of the club” by a certain former owner, I watched what used to be a great website deteriorate into a form deluded Pravda. Once said former owner finally left and the Club was saved from oblivion, I was asked by my old chum Dave Stoker from the Rivals boards (remember that?) to come in and help clear the absolute mess he left behind. That was in 2009, so I’ve been doing it ever since.

• Tell us more about what your role as “Web Editor” entails?

A few years back I found myself in sole charge of all the club’s web and social media presence. Things were a bit ropey back then and I had to chase for any information in order to transform things into newsworthy articles.  No mean feat as Higher English was as far as my literary skills got, and I don’t consider myself to be a journalist of any note. Fortunately, things have vastly improved since then and I now have Dave Black and Derek White doing all the hard work which I then ‘make pretty’ for going online.

I also used to do every single graphic on the web and social media, but the wonderful Lolly and Rae Irvine have pretty much taken that over now too – and do a much better job of it than I did!

• A Lion from day one – but watching from afar more recently! What took you “up North”?

Pretty much every man’s reason for uprooting: a woman! My ex-wife was an Inverness girl and yearned to return north. Being the nice guy that I am, I went along with her, but continue to miss my family and my Livi Season Ticket every day. More so with the present lockdown.

We’re not married any more, but that had nothing to do with the fitba, honest!

• Away for your Livi “duties”, what’s your day-to-day job?

It’s pretty boring really. I work on an out-of-hours IT desk supporting a wide range of clients, from Defra to Nationwide Building Society. We’re the guys you call when things go wrong with your IT stuff at work.  I do 13 hours a night, which can be very draining and horrendously antisocial, but the extended time off between shifts makes it worthwhile.  I’d love to say I’m like one of the “IT Crowd” however it’s nowhere near that much fun.  But have you turned it off and on again?

• Having been a fan for so long, it must be nice to be involved with the club and have a chance to help improve and influence things?

I’ve been a Livi fan since Meadowbank relocated, and actually played a small part in that process. Football generates a loyalty and passion quite unlike anything else, so for me it’s an honour to help support the Club as it’s so close to my heart. I’m sure all Livi supporters will understand this.

Influentially, I offer suggestions to the team to discuss, so it’s nice to be involved in that decision-making process, though I have absolutely no say in anything that goes on ‘upstairs’ contrary to popular belief.

• Has there been any particular moments/highlights/things you’ve done within your role at the club that has brought you most satisfaction?

The old website I inherited lagged far behind today’s mobile technology, and I was just firefighting to ensure it stayed relevant.  So, a few years back I took the decision to completely rebuild it to work on tablets and mobiles, as well as PCs and laptops. That took up weeks of my personal time, but I regret none of it as I consider it to have been a major step forward in rebuilding the Club’s tarnished and amateurish public image.

• Having been helping as long as you have, you’ll have dealt with a huge number of people – how does the current set-up rank amongst those you’ve dealt with over the years?

The firefighting days had a whole feeling of their own, with a certain sense of accomplishment experienced each time one of the previous owner’s minefields was cleared. Being in sole charge of everything was a weighty responsibility and greatly limited my scope to produce quality output.

So today we have a proper team structure in place, with everyone having defined roles and this is a something I really enjoy. It’s also nice to know I’m still considered part of the team, despite not being hands-on like the rest: a distinct advantage on online technology.

• What’s been your favourite moment of all-time as a Livingston fan?

Has to be the CIS Cup Final in 2004. The Club was on its knees at that time due to administration, and a heavy dark cloud hovered over the stadium and all the supporters. So, Lilley and McAllister netting the winning goals at Hampden brought a much-needed ray of sunlight to us all. As well as eternal bragging rights over all our Hibby pals!  It’s also a special memory for me as I went with my dad Donnie, who sadly passed away in 2011. He has a memorial brick on the side of the Stadium now.

• Having been relegated to League 1 in May 2016, you surely couldn’t have dreamt of uploading a story to the website in May 2018 confirming promotion to the Premiership?!

Absolutely not! In all honesty I expected a comfortable place in the Championship, but an inspired management team and playing squad said otherwise. I was at Tannadice the night we set up the decider with Partick Thistle, and that was the first time I truly felt things were about to change. The atmosphere was electric and supremely confident – magic!

• Has there been one player in particular over the years that stands out as your favourite?

Oh, tough call!  Two candidates immediately spring to mind: David Bingham and David Fernandez.  Though Mark “Casper” Duthie’s speed down the wing always impressed me back in the mid 90s.

But returning to my initial pair, both Davids are Club legends in my book, with each capable of turning on the magic to win a game. Both had blistering footwork and skill in abundance, but for me, Bingham edges it slightly through longevity.

We have a cracking squad now, but Bingo and Fernandez could still give them a run for their money in their day.

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