Falkirk FC: Liam Henderson recounts hilarious prank by ex-boss Dick Campbell on former Bairns striker Anton Dowds

Henderson, 26, revealed that Campbell and his twin brother Ian, the Gayfield side’s assistant manager, joined the rest of the playing squad in tricking Dowds before a match at East End Park on Boxing Day, 2021, after the forward had joined Arbroath on loan from Falkirk.

“I saw some great team talks from Dick when I was at Arbroath,” Henderson told the Falkirk Herald. “I’ll tell you one incident.

"I think it was my second or third game, we had just got Anton Dowds on loan from Falkirk, we were playing Dunfermline away and we were in the dressing room.

"It was during Covid so we were separated out on the seats. The gaffer Dick’s come in and done the team talk and his brother is just kind of standing behind him.

"Dick was talking about getting stuck in and really getting after your players. He turned round and him and his brother started toy fighting, rolling about the floor!

"The boys all knew what was coming. We’ve turned round and Anton’s face was like: ‘What the hell is going on here?’

"He didn’t know what was going on. It was so funny after it when the team talk was finished and all the boys were speaking to Anton.

"But there are so many stories I’ve got about my old boss. He is a funny character.”

The prank on Dowds clearly didn’t adversely affect him, as he scored the third goal that day as Arbroath romped to a 3-0 Championship win on their way to finishing second in the second tier last term.

When asked to compare Campbell’s management style with his current boss at Falkirk, John McGlynn, Henderson added: “They are different in a lot of ways.

"I think our gaffer here is very detailed and very thorough on video analysis and he’s the modern day football type.

"Whereas Dick was more working hard in training and then on a Saturday it was kind of: ‘Go and play and see what happens’ kind of thing.

"We are really well drilled and organised here whereas a lot of the players at Arbroath took it upon themselves to use their experience to win games on a Saturday.”

Henderson, currently excelling in a midfield role for Falkirk having started this season at centre half, is surprised to see Arbroath struggling near the foot of the Championship table this season having finished second top last term.

“After that season it was hard to replicate that,” he added. “We had an amazing group and team spirit within the dressing room and the club is massive.

"The fans turned out in numbers every week and I think it was just that feelgood factor in the club and the way we were performing was winning us games.

"They lost a lot of players at the end of last season and it’s hard to recruit to get as good as what you had.

"I think they’ve recruited quite well and they will stay in the league. They’ve got some good players in that team.

"I’m still really close with a couple of the boys. We stay in contact quite a lot.”