Camelon Juniors defender Lewis McArthur hoping to cut it off pitch now and on it next season

Manager Johnny Harvey’s side finished rock bottom of the table after a dismal showing saw them end the league season with just six wins in 34 matches played, picking up only 20 points, five fewer than second-bottom Whitehill Welfare.

Long-term injuries played havoc throughout the year, but McArthur doesn’t see that as an excuse for their side shipping more than 100 goals, the most conceded by any side in the division.

“We just weren’t good enough over the piece and everyone has to look at themselves,” he said.

“When you start off badly and lose a manager, it is always hard to come back from.

“Every game lost makes the next one harder to win, but our performances weren’t good enough and we lost too many poor goals through mistakes or lapses in concentration.”

McArthur also says it is tough mentally as a player to keep going as defeats stack up, saying that strength of character is needed to persevere.

“It is really hard coming off a defeat, and the next few days after a Saturday are so tough,” he explained.

“I was Camelon’s first signing, and for me personally it really does ruin your weekend when you lose, so it is important to have something to take those emotions away.

“Pre-season is in a couple of weeks and I am sure the gaffer will make some adjustments to get us back up. I believe we can do well next season and put last year behind us.”

Camelon might have failed to cut it on the pitch last season, but McArthur is confident he can cut it in a new business venture away from football, having just opened a barber’s shop in Falkirk town centre.

“Right now, my business is my main focus and that helps, and I am sure when we get under way again, I will be able to use that to my advantage,” he told us.

Cut17’s Bank Street location put it in direct competition with several established barbers and hairdressing salons, but McArthur says he is cut out for that commercial challenge.

“It was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down, and everything fell into place,” he said.

“The shop came to me, as such, and I have had great support from family to help get the place up and running.

“I have a lot of experience in barbering and hairdressing now after being based in Rebel Rebel in Glasgow for a few years and being part of an academy teaching others the trade.

“I started all the way back when I was 18 just down the road at Tweedie and Marshall, where I did a three-year apprenticeship.

“My long-term goal has always been to start up my own place and I am an ambitious person.

“I know there is competition nearby but that only motivates me more. I am sure it will do the same for them too seeing me open up."

The defender isn’t the only Falkirk footballer of recent years handier with actual scissors than a scissors kick as ex-Bairns player and co-manager Lee Miller now runs a barber’s shop in Hamilton called Nine Hair.