Jim Duffy: Bairns are dangerous opponents

Jim Duffy believes Falkirk will be dangerous opponents tomorrow and has warned his side they must be ready for a Bairns side experiencing a ‘managerial bounce’ following Peter Houston’s recent departure.

Media and communications officer Jonathan Mitchell asked the Cappielow gaffer if Houston’s exit would affect the dynamics of tomorrow’s fixture and he said:

“I think it was a very tough decision that Falkirk made there, and from a manager’s point of view I thought Peter had done an unbelievable job at Falkirk.

“But we all know the managerial profession is very precarious, anbd I think what it will do is ease the pressure and responsibility on some of the Falkirk players.

“There’s a different voice on the training pitch, and some of the criticism that might have been directed at them is deflected.

“They might come into the game more relaxed and when you’re relaxed and more composed, you’ll play better and make them more dangerous opponents.

“They haven’t quite clicked yet and we’ll be hoping it’s another couple of weeks before that happens.

“But we do know there will perhaps be an extra incentive from their players to try and prove a point and we have to be ready for that.”

Duffy, though, preferred to focus on his own side and challenged them to match their performance levels at Dundee United last weekend:

“Falkirk have some very, very talented players and I fully expect them to be one of the main challengers come the end of the season.

“But all we can do is focus on our game and have the same degree of commitment we had last week, and if we do that we’ll make it a difficult day for Falkirk.

“You’re never happy to lose a football match but we lost it because we made a couple of errors, not because Dundee United gave any more than we did.

“To go to Tannadice and compete as well as we did, I was delighted. We’ve done that in every game, other than one against Livingston, and every game has been even.

“We’ve come out on top in a few. Last Saturday that didn’t happen. I expect another close encounter against Falkirk and we keep our fingers crossed we can come out on top.”

When asked for the latest news on Jai Quitongo’s hamstring problem, the Ton boss confirmed he will give Jai until the last minute before making a decision, as well as revealing Michael Tidser could miss out:

“Jai is still feeling it a little bit. The hamstring is a difficult one to test later in the week because it can react through a sprint or fatigue some times.

“So if you go and do sprints with him and he aggravates it, you’re kicking yourself because he might have just needed another 48 hours or so.

“We’ll give him up until the last minute, but at this moment in time, I’d say he is in the doubtful category.

“Michael Tidser has also been a little bit unwell for a couple of days and we’ll never know how these things settle down.

“Ricki Lamie and Thomas O’Ware missed a couple of days training, Ricki with a back spasm and Thomas with a groin injury that he’s been playing through.

“We’ll be looking at everyone and making sure they’re as healthy as possible. Sometimes you’ve got to play with a niggle, as long as it doesn’t impact your performance.”

Image: David Bell