WE'LL ONLY WORRY ABOUT THE DROP IF CHAIRMAN STARTS GIVING TEAM TALKS

The defender told the Daily Record, he reckons the Almondvale club have the quality to survive in the SPL as they prepare for their relegation crunch at home to Dunfermline tomorrow.

Dorado, 32, also has the experience of battling the drop to call on after he escaped a plunge into the Spanish Second Division with Cordoba five years ago.

But the French star revealed they only made it by the skin of their teeth when a meddling chairman insisted on delivering pre-match pep talks and changing the coach's tactics.

He reduced the squad to fits of giggles with his unorthodox approach but defender Dorado knows relegation to the First Division will be no laughing matter for boss Richard Gough and financial backer Flynn.

Former Paris St Germain kid Dorado said: 'I was sent on loan to Cordoba from Malaga for a season five years ago and the chairman was determined we would make it in La Liga.

'He poured a lot of money into the team and after a while we were in the top six.

'However, the chairman still wasn't happy and sacked our coach. The results soon became very,very bad.

'We dropped into the relegation zone and a bad atmosphere developed around the team because everyone was under so much pressure. To make matters worse, the chairman was an arrogant man and started to take on the role of the coach.

'Seriously, he would come into our dressing room before every game and deliver team talks and tactics that were the complete opposite of what the manager had just told us to do.

'Some people,when they have money, think they can do what they want but it cannot buy you everything in life.

'At these crucial moments, a chairman must stay chairman and a manager must stay manager.

'Thankfully, despite everything that was going on around us, there was a good enough relationship between the players at Cordoba that the chairman's approach only made us laugh'In the end, quality told and we stayed in the division with a couple of games to spare.'

Dorado has played a crucial role in Livi's recent revival as they inch their way closer to SPL safety.

At one point, they were in danger of becoming stranded at the foot of the table but have rallied with some super results.

They have lost only two of their last eight games, with wins against Dundee, Kilmarnock and high-flying Hibs.

They are now level on points at the foot of the table with the Pars, who have never won at Almondvale in the SPL before.

Livi bosses are so keen to encourage support for their team they have even offered season ticket holders a free brief to bring along a friend.

If either club drops into the First Division it will cost around£1.5million in lost revenue and Pars chairman John Yorkston has already declared the game more important for his club than last season's Scottish Cup Final. Dorado said: 'This game is massive but no bigger a match than last week against Dundee United, or next week at Inverness.

'But we still control our own destiny and a couple of months ago that didn't look to be the case.

'This relegation issue must be very interesting for people on the outside looking in.

'Yes,we are all under pressure but we are professionals and it is our job to cope and play with the demands that are put upon us.

'We know if we maintain the same levels of performance we will be in the SPL again next season.

'That is our goal and it is in our hands to achieve it