That will leave them with attacking midfielder Chris Erskine as arguably the only option up front but Holt will not abandon his philosophy of going for victory.

"You look at everything, you look at performance, you look at players and the areas we can improve," he said.

"It's the fine lines of football at the moment, we are playing really well, having chances and losing 1-0.

"It's that balance – do we try and keep winning the game or try and kill the game off and make it boring?

"But I believe if we keep trying doing things right, keep trying to win, we would buy into doing that rather than trying to shut up stop and make it a 0-0."

On losing Hardie on top of his injured players, Holt said: "That's why it's a squad game and certainly in this day and age you have to utilise it.

"It gives someone who had been waiting for a game the chance to play, and what a game to play."

Meanwhile, Holt has told new loan signing Ciaron Brown that he will have to battle hard to force his way into an impressive Livingston defence.

The 21-year-old completed his move in time to make the bench in Wednesday's defeat in Perth.

"Neil (Warnock) at Cardiff was very complimentary about him and his strengths and offered us the chance to take him, which is brilliant," Holt said.

"Hopefully we can enhance his education, but he has to fight to get in the team now. Neil has told him that, we have told him that, you are not just going up there to think you are going to play, you have to earn the right, show the same desire and hunger and you have to push somebody out of the team."

Dutch defender Henk Van Schaik has joined Dumbarton on loan.

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