Falkirk defender Tommy Robson thought Bairns had been relegated by Dundee United

Instead, the schadenfreude from the Dundee United fans was marking a crucial defeat for rivals Dundee – not the opposition.

News that Falkirk had been given a relegation reprive by Inverness only made it’s way to the defender in the dressing room afterwards.

He admitted: “I am not going to lie, I thought we were down last Saturday. I heard the Dundee United fans cheering and I thought it was because Alloa had scored again.

“I thought: ‘That’s it’. I was totally devastated. It felt like everything had been ripped out. It was only afterwards that someone told me Dundee had conceded in the last minute.

“I don’t want that feeling for real this weekend.”

Even if Falkirk do the business and win against league champions Ross County – they can still go down if Alloa take anything from Ayr United.

But it’s all academic if the Bairns don’t win and reach the 38-point marker set by Alloa.

Robson added: “It’s obviously one of the biggest games we have got this season, I know we have been saying that for the last few weeks.

“We have just got to stick together, keep working hard in training and stay as positive as we can and take it from there.

“Even if we win it can still be out of our hands anyway so we are going to need luck on our side as well.

“I don’t think we can think about Alloa. We can only do our part and if Alloa lose, then they lose and we’ll be alright.

“But if we don’t go and do what we have to do first then it doesn’t matter what happens in the other game.”