Coll Donaldson on cutting out mistakes at the back and how 'crucial' it is to get the Falkirk fans on side

The Bairns have kept two cleans sheets so far in their three League 1 outings so far, but the centre-half says the 2-2 draw at Cove Rangers shows they still have to do.

In the early season Viaplay Cup group stages, the side narrowly missed out on qualification to the second round – with their achilles heel the concession of a number of cheap goals across the four fixtures.

"We actually spoke about it before the Viaplay group stage,” Donaldson told the Falkirk Herald. “We conceded too many goals last season, that was the biggest thing that held us back. If you want to do well in the league then you need to be solid at the back – I think we can still be way better than where we are at just now.

"Sam (Long) made a couple of brilliant saves on Tuesday night against Stirling Albion but we don’t want him to be put in a position to need to do that.

“We were really annoyed by the goals we lost in the Viaplay Cup. The goals were from individual errors and it was from our own doing. At least that is preventable and it is something you can pinpoint and work on in training and we have done that.

"The gaffer has been really big on it. At Cove, the penalty originated from a long ball that we should have dealt with, and of course the second was another poor, poor goal to lose.

“His (John McGlynn’s) message has been clear. We need to give the boys further up the park a chance to actually go and win us matches because they have that real quality. If we can keep clean sheets then the weapons we have in attack will be able to win any game for us.

“It doesn’t just some down to the back four. Hendo and Brad (Liam Henderson and Brad Spencer) in front of us have really done well. A lot of people look at defensive statistics and say a defence is bad – but the truth is that a whole team have to defend and be at it.”

Donaldson also reckons the Bairns newly-introduced singing section in the Kevin McAllister Stand has been a big boost to the team, saying that it is a noticeable difference, and something the players were keen on seeing happen.

He added: “We want to use the fans. We get such a great crowd each game. Home matches are key and we had a good record last season but we want to better it this time around. We need to start matches fast like Tuesday night.

"We should be getting them on side by starting on the front foot so they are singing and not getting frustrated in the stands – which is fair enough if we do allow the opposition to frustrate us on the park, the fans just want to see us play the way can do.

“The singing section has been a great addition. Anytime the idea was mentioned to us as players, we were all for it and made that clear because it does make a difference. Even on Tuesday night, I did notice it when there was a break in play for an injury. The noise was great and it is a big positive to have them there.”