Falkirk FC: Board aim to be playing Premiership football in time for club's 150th anniversary

In a statement released on Thursday, they admitted the goal of re-establishing themselves in the Premiership would need every supporter of the club to help, and that they didn’t ‘under-estimate the challenge ahead’.

This season was undoubtedly one of the worst in the club's history, with the side finishing in sixth spot in the third tier after a campaign that saw three coaches at the helm, and a number of gaffes on and off the pitch.

"Our goal is to re-establish Falkirk Football Club in the Premiership in time for our 150th anniversary season of 2026/27,” they said.

"Critical to this will be the recent appointment of John McGlynn and Paul Smith, who bring with them a wealth and experience of our league and the Championship.

"Since the new board was established in December, as well as reviewing our own club, we’ve been increasing our knowledge of what it takes to build a sustainably successful football club – one which consistently delivers positive results as a direct output of its management practices, systems and structures.

"For clubs with such “infrastructure” it is clear that, while success can never be guaranteed, their chances are greatly enhanced because they are less reliant on specific individuals. In such clubs, while appointing a manager is very important it is the final piece of the jigsaw not the only piece.

“If the definition of madness is ‘doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results’ our club needs to learn from this. What we’ve learned is that the act we keep repeating isn’t consistently appointing poor managers, but consistently expecting managers to succeed without giving them all the tools they need to do so. We need to put these tools in place and this work has already begun.

"On the football side, this means a strong scouting network, excellent data analysis, a pipeline of talented Academy players, great training facilities, a good playing surface and a positive, high-performance culture. It also means having a consistent football philosophy and coaching methodology – a “Falkirk Way” which is aligned all the way from the first team to the foundation.

“Off the pitch the story is much the same. We won’t become a high-performing business without the essential infrastructure required, such as goal setting, performance appraisals, commercial architecture, sales materials, prospects lists, CRM capabilities, good management accounts, a strong brand, better use of media and a positive culture with good relationships with all our partners.”

The club will also create a new development squad for Season 23/24, with the aim of helping Under-18 players to play in a meaningful games programme.

Allan Fraser, who was previously emerging talent scout at Southampton, has now joined the club permanently as head of recruitment.

He’s been working with the Bairns over the past three two months and has already created a ‘robust recruitment list’ for the new management team to use.

A new commercial manager has also been announced with Graeme Stewart replacing club legend Sammy McGivern.

The club have also urged any supporters and companies interested in sponsoring the club to get in touch, with the hope of strong commercial performance in Season 2023/24 helping bridge a £300,000 gap needed to deliver their Premiership ambition.

"We’re therefore also asking for volunteers to step forward to help with the sales effort, particularly any fan with prior sales or telesales experience. In addition, anyone with graphic design and/or social media skills would also be very welcome,” they said.

“If any supporter either runs a business or knows someone who does, who may be interested in sponsorship or advertising, then please put us in touch with them via the same e-mail address. In particular, we’re looking for an Official Academy Partner who can help fund and accelerate our football development. We’d also like to re-establish our own training ground away from The Falkirk Stadium, so are looking for an Official Training Partner who can help fund and facilitate this.”

Interested parties can contact:

[email protected] / [email protected]