John McGlynn believes his Falkirk side can charge towards promotion after receiving high praise from Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers.
Rodgers visited the Falkirk dressing room following Celtic’s 5-2 victory in the Premier Sports Cup and lauded the Bairns for their performance.
McGlynn is convinced his team can draw confidence from the experience, having pushed Celtic harder than any other opponent this season.
Reflecting on the match, McGlynn said, “We can take great belief from having come here, played the way we did, and made a statement.
“Celtic had to make four changes around the hour mark to turn the game in their favour, which they did. Players individually were up against top players here. So, can you learn anything individually, and as a team, can you learn anything? Because we play in a similar way.”
He added, “I was pleased. Big plaudits to Brendan, he came into our dressing room after the game and complimented our players. A great thank you to him for doing that – it will help our players as well. We’ll take the belief that we came here and scored two goals against Celtic, something nobody else has done. This won’t hurt us mentally.”
With Falkirk leading 2-1 and just 20 minutes left on the clock, Celtic were forced to bring on over £20 million worth of talent to secure the win.
McGlynn acknowledged the significance of this, stating, “It speaks volumes for the effort we put in and the way we played, to be in a position where we were leading Celtic 2-1. We came with a game plan, and I think it kind of worked.
“Of course, the other players that started for Celtic weren’t exactly cheap either. That was a statement, a back-handed compliment to us. It was as if they said, ‘Fair enough, Falkirk, you’ve done well, but here come the big guns. Let’s see how you handle that.’ And of course, our legs fell off a bit, gaps opened up, and Nicky Hogarth had to make two or three more saves, but you had to expect that to some extent.”
McGlynn, who has been linked with the vacant managerial position at St Johnstone, also praised the Falkirk fans who filled the away end at Parkhead and nearly witnessed a famous upset.
He said, “From 2.15pm to five o’clock, they were absolutely amazing. That corner, every single one stayed right until all the players went across. A huge thank you to the fans – they’ve been absolutely great.
“They enjoyed what they’d seen. They’ll be a bit like us, thinking, ‘What if?’ But we did well. There’s no criticism of the players at all. It’s a matter of, ‘Yeah, we enjoyed that, and we want more of it.’ The hunger should be oozing out of us to return here.”
With that hunger and belief, McGlynn is confident Falkirk can push on in their promotion bid.