McGlynn urges Falkirk to 'bounce back' as Hampden date looms

TL;DR

Falkirk's manager John McGlynn believes the team's recent heavy loss to Rangers could motivate them ahead of the Scottish Cup semi-final against Dunfermline. He stresses the importance of training hard to prepare for a challenging match at Hampden.

Falkirk boss John McGlynn believes his side's heavy defeat to Rangers could be the "kick up the backside" they need before of Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final.

The Bairns are hoping to see off Dunfermline at Hampden and take a step closer to the trophy but need to pick themselves up after Sunday's bruising 6-3 home defeat.

McGlynn aims to take the positives from a game where his side held a deserved 2-0 lead until just before half-time, and emphasised that Dunfermline will be tough opposition.

"We know that we really need to be at it," he said. "We have to train well all week. All week. We need to be on it all week.

"The games that Dunfermline won against Hibs and Aberdeen tell you that they are more than capable of beating Premiership opposition.

"So we are under no illusions. The message will be getting hammered home this week. This could be the best thing that could happen to us to make sure we get it right next week.

"We've got to take positives from it. We've done so well all season. It's a bit uncharacteristic to lose goals as we did. We need to bounce back."

Falkirk suffered a 3-0 defeat by Inverness in their most recent semi-final appearance three years ago and McGlynn hopes that experience will help as he looks to book a place in the showpiece final in May.

"We're really excited," he said. "Falkirk as a town, everyone's really buzzing for it.

"We've done well to get there. When you go away from home and beat Hearts, put out Dundee United, we've done it the hard way.

"We've played big, big games. We're very much looking forward to it."