John McGlynn has revealed that he is already exploring new markets ahead of the summer transfer window to ensure that he keeps on improving Falkirk’s squad.

The Bairns boss, 64, has led the club to a top-six finish in the Scottish Premiership after back-to-back SPFL title successes. And that has been completed on the back of smart recruitment in the Scottish market.

Falkirk beat Motherwell 1-0 last time out to keep up the hunt for European football with fifth-placed Hibs visiting this Saturday, and that victory over the ‘Well came with nine Scots starting.

The club have already confirmed the pre-contract signing of Falkirk hero Craig Sibbald from Dundee United, and McGlynn would love to sign more ready-made SPFL stars, but he knows that becomes more difficult as his team continues to hit new heights.

Falkirk manager John McGlynn has revealed that he will look further afield for new signings this summer as he looks to keep improving his top-six squad (Pics by Craig Foy/SNS Group)

placeholder image — Falkirk manager John McGlynn has revealed that he will look further afield for new signings this summer as he looks to keep improving his top-six squad (Pics by Craig Foy/SNS Group)

“It’s the nature of the beast,” he explained. “I’m not saying that there are no players in Scotland we could get to make us better. But if they are contracted to a club, which is likely, then we’re not buying them because we’ve got the lowest budget in the league.

"It (league position) does open things up for us because we’ve done well. On Craig Sibbald coming in... he was keen to come here. He lives very local and he’s Falkirk through and through and that’s great for us. To have someone who actually wants to be here, who’s going to rip up trees and knock down walls for Falkirk. If we can get more of that, that would be great, but it’s quite difficult.

"We need to try and keep getting better. It’s quite difficult for us. We play with wingers. We have to replace the likes of Ethan Williams who is back at Man United, Kyrell Wilson when he goes back to Swansea. Who are we replacing them with in Scotland?

"We’ll still need to use the loan market. We might get the chance to take Kyrell here again, who knows. That’s what Alan Fraser (chief scout) is looking at. We need to continue to build the infrastructure. We are getting more like a Premiership club. We were a down and out League One club not so long ago but now we’re thriving. We need to be in the league for years so we can continue doing that. We’ll have to look further afield because they’re not necessarily on our doorstep and we are.”

When asked directly if he would go into the European market this summer, McGlynn replied yes and explained the challenges involved.

He said: “It’s more difficult. I don’t want to lose the spirit and the camaraderie we’ve got here. It’s catch 22. I’m trying to be careful, but at the same time, if you see someone who’s got talent that can help you get better, you hope that player’s going to come in. We’ll do as best as we can but it’s not like the Scottish guys where we know them inside out.”