Kilmarnock manager Angelo Alessio was left with a smile on his face following what he felt was a deserved 2-1 victory over Livingston in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

The Ayrshire side replaced their opponents in the league's top six on an afternoon when goals from Gary Dicker and Rory McKenzie did the damage.

Substitute Lee Miller pulled a goal back for the visitors with five minutes remaining but the hosts held on for a fourth league win in six, something that delighted Alessio.

"I'm happy because we deserved to win this match," the Killie boss said.

"We suffered for the first 30 minutes then we scored the goal through Dicker. In the second half we were much better and scored another goal.

"We suffered a little at the end because Livingston are very physical and they have a good structure.

"We are happy, the players are happy, so are the fans and staff. We have to work hard at every training session and I think we can do better.

"It was disappointing to lose such an easy goal. If we had been more focused we wouldn't have conceded that. In the game that can happen but in the end the most important thing is the result."

Alessio's opposite number Gary Holt cut a less satisfied figure as he bemoaned the sloppy defending that cost his side on the day.

Livi may have beaten Celtic on their previous outing but the Rugby Park defeat was their fifth in six matches.

Holt said: "We talked about the first goal being vital and we conceded a poor goal from a set-piece again. We then gave away an easy second goal and suddenly we realised we had to start playing because we were 2-0 down.

"You can't turn up at places like this, or anywhere in football, and think that you can give a team a two-goal start. Not acceptable.

"You're not guaranteed to win games, I understand that. But there's a way of losing a game and I don't think we were at it enough either individually or collectively."