John McGlynn has been pleased by how his Falkirk side have adapted to life in the Scottish Premiership after back-to-back promotions, and is now aiming for that first home win that would help “settle everyone down”.
The Bairns take on Hibs at home on Tuesday night, knowing a win could potentially see them jump all the way up to third in the table.
That would represent a great start to the season for a club that was in League One just two seasons ago. However, McGlynn insists his side won’t get too carried away, as they know it’s a marathon and not a sprint.
The manager is also delighted to give their home support the chance to watch some genuine quality, and he considers this week’s opponents to be in that category.
He said: “As soon as we got promoted, the whole town of Falkirk was really excited about returning to the Premiership.
“A lot of fans here have never seen the likes of Hibs coming in a Premiership game. We had Dundee United here in the very first game of the season; our fans haven’t seen these teams coming to Falkirk in a long time.
“What they have seen over the last three years is us building up and building up, so that’s why they are coming along in their numbers, and they like what they are viewing.
“They are also coming here to see good football and I’m sure they will appreciate Hibs, who are a good side who play good football as well, likewise if teams like Celtic or Rangers come here and play well then they will appreciate that they are good teams with good players.
“That’s all part of top-flight football, you want to see your team doing well, of course you do, but you also recognise the calibre of teams we are playing against as well.
“With all respect to the teams we were playing in League One, you would think it was more of a motivation for fans to come just now to see us playing against international-level players.
“It’s exciting times, we are delighted that we have done so well to get here, and earning respect by putting in good performances.”
Falkirk have won one, drawn one, and lost two of their first four games, which included an impressive win at Pittodrie, but are still looking for their first victory in front of their own fans.
McGlynn continued: “We are still finding our feet a little bit. I thought the game against Dundee United was very entertaining. Probably didn’t do as well as we should have against Livingston, a win up at Aberdeen is always a good win under any circumstances, even if they aren’t going through a great spell at the moment.
“We have been in every game, we haven’t been outplayed, and that gives me belief that we can hold our own.
“I think a first home win would settle everyone down, it would settle the players down and the fans. The away win at Aberdeen was great, but when you have all season ticket holders here, you want to be winning in front of them.
“It would be huge, and would see us jump up the table quite a bit this early in the season. We know it’s not a sprint, and there is still a long way to go, but nonetheless, you want to get as many points on the board as you possibly can.”
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