Livingston 'deserve' Premiership step-up, says striker as he leaves with his head held high
Stevie May doesn't yet know what the future holds, but is proud to have played his part in Livingston's promotion
Stevie May leaves Livingston with his head held high and reckons they deserve another crack at the Premiership.
The Lions bounced back to the top-flight at the first time of asking with a play-off win over Ross County, pitching the Dingwall club into the Championship.
May, 32, who doesn't know where his future lies after his release from a second spell at St Johnstone, says Livi have proved all season that they're good enough to mix it with the big boys.
He said: 'Getting promoted is huge for the club, especially with the new owners coming in.
'This club deserves to be in the Premiership, because this team is good enough.
'I've played there for a lot of years and this team feels like a top league team.
'There is so much experience and quality in the dressing room.
'I would think 80 per cent of the players have played in the Premiership, there's no doubting there's the base there to go back up and do well.'
Livingston were 2-0 down in Dingwall, but goals from Lewis Smith, Danny Wilson, Robbie Muirhead and Tete Yengi completed a stirring fightback at 4-2 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate.
May said: 'You have seen in the play-offs before that teams can come back, and these things do happen.
'We've done that all season, to be fair, the boys have some bottle. In the league we came back a few times to win points from those positions, so we always believed we could do it.
'This team always keeps going at it, and you could see how strong we were as the game went on.'
Though he didn't play as often as he would have liked in the last two months, May scored 10 goals in 46 games for David Martindale's side, and the former Aberdeen and Sheffield Wednesday striker enjoyed his time.
He said: 'It has been a great season. I just wanted to come here and play. I haven't played as much in the last month or two, but the boys have been doing really well.
'We have gone with a bigger presence up front, and Robbie Muirhead scored some great goals.
'I was just there to do my job when I came on off the bench, and try to make an impact in games.
'I've started 30-odd games, won a cup and now won promotion, so it has been a great year.'
As a St Johnstone fan from Perth, May wasn't happy to see his side relegated at the end of the season, as his contract ends, but said: 'I've been successful there. I've made memories that will last a lifetime.'
As for what is next, May didn't close the door on a permanent return to Almondvale.
He said: 'I don't know what the future holds. I'll have to see what happens in the next few weeks.
'We've all been concentrating on the play-offs, but now they're out of the way I can start to think about it.
'We'll see what the manager says and what he wants to do.
'He's been big on everyone concentrating on the job in hand, then we'd talk about things.'
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