Falkirk boss John McGlynn insists it’s his side are in a good place heading into facing Celtic tonight…
When Martin O’Neill first returned to Celtic back in October following the sudden departure of Brendan Rodgers, Falkirk were the opponents – and they were on the receiving end of a 4-0 drubbing.
However, following back-to-back victories against Aberdeen and St Mirren which have comfortably moved the Bairns into the top six, McGlynn reckons his side have nothing to lose against the Scottish champions this evening.
“It is an exciting prospect,” the former Celtic analyst said via BBC Sport Scotland. “Obviously we were first to sample Martin coming back the first time at Celtic Park. It didn’t go so well, so we will be looking for something better than that.
“Different at Celtic Park with 50,000 Celtic fans behind their team. The atmosphere is going to be a bit different than Celtic Park with nearly 7,000 fans behind us. We are in a good place. We’ve taken nine points from a possible 12. It is a game to look forward to.”
Celtic’s trip tonight marks their first appearance at Falkirk Stadium since 2010. The transformation at the club since McGlynn arrived four years ago – where they were languishing sixth in League One – to now has been remarkable.
“It is a bit of a fairytale,” he admitted. “There are guys here who were in League 1 and who would never have imagined they would be playing at this level – they are excelling.
“So far so good. We are sitting sixth and have a little bit of a cushion, but not enough to think that’s us for the season. We’ve shown for half a season we can do it. We’ve just got to show that for the other half.”
“We believe we can now and the players have the confidence they needed. We’ve shown other clubs we’re a match for anyone on our day.”
“At the moment, we are very much on the up, but we are not getting carried away. I would be so proud [if Falkirk completed a top-six finish]. It is one of these scenarios where you probably won’t realise exactly what we’ve done here until you are retired and looking back on it.”
McGlynn has done some special things at Falkirk, but let’s hope he is on the receiving end of a defeat tonight as Celtic aim to chase Hearts at the top of the table.
Conor Spence
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