Scott Pittman is everything that defines Livingston’s success over recent seasons.
Quiet, unassuming, hard working, selfless. It’s those traits that carried both he and the club from League One to the Premiership in the space of two seasons.
And it’s those traits that have kept him in the top flight of Scottish football for five seasons.
When he takes to the pitch at Fir Park on Saturday for Livi’s top flight clash with Motherwell, he’ll have played more games in a Lions jersey than anyone else.
You couldn’t have hand-picked a more fitting player to have that honour.
The local lad is set to make his 310th appearance for the club at the weekend and it’s something he says will be a ‘proud’ moment but also one he could never have thought possible having left Junior football for the Championship in 2015.
There’s no sign of him slowing down any time soon, either, with the club set to tie him down to a new contract that will take him into a testimonial season.
Speaking to the West Lothian Courier, he said: “It’s a milestone I’m pleased and proud to have reached. I’ve obviously been at the club a while now and been able to play most weeks.
“Last season I had a couple of injuries that set me back but I’ve been lucky to stay fit for so long and get that number of games under my belt. I feel like I’ve been improving my game every year.”
A near constant presence in his career has been current Livi boss David Martindale.
The 48-year-old played alongside Pittman at Broxburn Athletic, managed at that time by Scott’s dad Steve.
Martindale left to take a coaching role at Livingston in the summer of 2014 and Scott moved to Bo’ness United.
Six months later they were teaming up again with Martindale crucial in the recruitment of the then 23-year-old.
The Livi gaffer said: “He was working with his dad and Stretch (Livi goalkeeping coach Gary Maley). Believe me, he’d have signed for Livingston for no wages just to get away from them.
“The guy runs a minimum of 11k per game and he’s played 309 times so far. When you actually think about just how many miles the wee man has ran in a Livingston jersey, it’s phenomenal.
“It’s always been a big part of his game but there’s so much more than that.
“The way he lives his life is a credit to the profession. He’s got a stable family and he’s not a stereotypical footballer wanting to be on social media taking pictures of fast cars and fancy shoes.
“I don’t think enough people realise how important that side of football is. He gives himself the best chance to get the most out of himself with the way he lives his life.”
He added: “He stood out at the Juniors. I remember taking training and he’d still be running 30 minutes after the session had ended.
“He always wanted to do more. That was the appetite to get back to full-time football but it’s something he’s carried with him at the club.
“He was unlucky to have been released by Hamilton when he was younger but their loss is Livingston’s gain.”
It’s not all been plain-sailing at the Tony Macaroni Arena for the midfielder, though, as he experienced relegation to League One in his first full season.
Both Martindale and Pittman, though, agree that turned into a blessing in disguise.
Martindale said: “I think that helped his career because it allowed him to organically develop. It’s a huge step up from Juniors to Championship and he had those 18 months before relegation but I don’t think either Scott or Livingston are in the Premiership without that step back to League One.
“He didn’t go straight from Bo’ness to the Premiership. There was 150 or so games before we got to that stage that was huge in terms of his development.”
Pittman added: “We had the momentum and were able to build on that. We were the best team in League One and took that continuity into the Championship and had that solid base that then got us into the Premiership.
“Those three years from League One to the first season in the Premiership with a lot of the same players were crucial.”
For one of the club’s most decorated players, it seems bizarre in hindsight that he admits to having doubts whether he’d make it. Whether a move from Junior football to a full-time Championship club was a step too far.
But it’s a chance he grasped with both hands and has never looked back since, describing Livi as the ‘perfect club’.
He commented: “It was a bit of a daunting experience because I didn’t really know what to expect. Obviously it was a big step up to go from that level straight into full-time.
“I jumped at the chance because it’s an opportunity there was no way I was turning down and I’ve loved every minute of it.
“I could have moved on at various stages but it’s the perfect club for me. It’s local and I enjoy being here so there’s really never been a reason to leave and hopefully there’s a few more years left.”
He ranks the club’s Premiership play-off success, including his winner in the semi-final first leg against Dundee United, as his defining moment in a Livi jersey but with the club having been on the verge of qualifying for European football in recent seasons, perhaps his greatest moment is still to come.
“The play-offs are the moments that stand out,” he said. “Getting that winner at Tannadice was a really special goal. It gave everyone a lift and I think it made us all realise we could do it.
“I got my first goal in the Petrofac Cup final. We won that game and I had a lot of my family there so that was a special game, too.
“Hopefully there’s more years and more moments still to come at the club.”
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