Livingston have 19 points from their last eight games

Five wins on the bounce, six straight games undefeated at the home fortress of the Tony Macaroni Arena, and the best goalscoring record in the league outwith Celtic and Rangers.

By rights, Livingston should be toiling for survival in the lower reaches of the top flight. They have the division's second lowest average attendance - just 3,664 last season - and the second-lowest wage bill. external-link

Yet they sit comfortably in fifth - four points above Hibernian and eight clear of seventh-place Kilmarnock - and are on course for their best top-flight finish in 18 years since coming third in 2002.

So how have the Livi Lions defied the odds and found their roar? BBC Scotland takes a look at the numbers behind their success.

Spaghettihad & the miserly defence

The robust, direct style of Livingston is not always pleasing on the eye, but is ruthlessly effective - and much of the team's success this season is down to their home form. The modest Tony Macaroni Arena and its plastic pitch has become a Lion's den where opponents are chewed up and spat out.

Livingston's haul of 24 points from 12 home games - compared to just 10 from 12 away matches - is a record bettered only by Celtic and Rangers, and their defensive stats are enough to make a Catenaccio coach envious.

No side in the Premiership has a more miserly backline on home soil than Livingston.

They have not conceded in their last six Premiership home matches, winning five on the spin, and have kept clean sheets in nine of 12. In comparison, Celtic have mustered just seven clean sheets in 12 and Rangers seven in 11.

In total, Holt's men have lost just five goals at home, one fewer than Celtic and level with Rangers despite having played a game more than the Ibrox side.

Savvy recruitment and attacking prowess

Livingston finished ninth last season on their return to the top flight, but the building blocks of that solid campaign were soon reduced to rubble.

Goalkeeper Liam Kelly, centre-backs Craig Halkett and Declan Gallagher, and midfielder Shaun Byrne - all with more than 35 appearances each last term - moved on. Loan striker Ryan Hardie, who had finished as the side's top scorer with seven goals, also departed and Holt had a huge rebuild on his hands.

He has plugged the gaps with canny recruitment. Jon Guthrie has been a stand-out at centre-back - and contributed an impressive four-goal haul at the other end - while fellow defender Aaron-Taylor Sinclair only arrived in November but has quickly established himself.

Marvin Bartley has become a tenacious mainstay in midfield, Aymen Souda brings bustle in attacking areas and goalkeeper Matija Sarkic impressed in his six-month loan spell. Robby McCrorie has since been drafted in from Rangers to fill the gloves - and Holt labelled the performance in his recent debut against St Johnstone as "exceptional".

The pick of the signings, though, are in forward positions - and the stats have reflected that.

Livingston scored 1.10 goals per game last season, a statistic that had them the joint-seventh top-scoring team in the league alongside Hearts. That has significantly improved this season - so much so that only Celtic and Rangers have outscored Gary Holt's side and their 1.50 goals per game.

Lyndon Dykes has taken the step up from second-tier Queen of the South in his stride. The Australian already has 11 goals and his physical attributes make him a nuisance to defenders while putting him on the international radar and reportedly attracting interest from Rangers external-link .

Steven Lawless' goal tally is also into double figures - three more than any Livingston player netted last season - and he has assisted five on top of that in the Premiership.

Physical or thuggish?

Livingston have attracted criticism for their style of play and physicality - but are they committing more offences than other teams? The numbers indicate the Lions are all roar and no bite in disciplinary matters.

Despite being third-highest in the league for fouls conceded, Gary Holt's men are like kittens in comparison to Hamilton Accies, who have seven red cards to Livingston's two.

They are not among the highest offending teams when it comes to cautions either - they are fifth in the league with 42 yellow cards compared to the likes of Motherwell and Ross County who have seen their players booked 50 times each.

Livingston have made their home a Lion's den, have shown physical prowess and defensive tenacity, but they have an attacking punch too now, making them a formidable force well beyond their means.

'Painting pictures in training'

Livingston manager Gary Holt

We are trying to implement things, show them things and educate them with the analysis that we do.

The training sessions we do is painting pictures for them to try to implement and I felt on Saturday [1-0 home win over Motherwell] that more and more what we have been doing in the week came out.

The movement off the ball, movement beyond the ball, supporting the team-mates when the ball went forward was really pleasing to see.

It was good and you just hope it is another wee building block for them to see how good they are and what they can achieve with, first and foremost, hard work.