Ryan Strain on why he joined Falkirk, Celtic loss and his season aim
Ryan Strain on why he joined Falkirk, Celtic loss and his season aim.
Ryan Strain says joining John McGlynn’s Falkirk was a no-brainer - and that he is hoping to kick on with the Bairns in the Scottish Premiership.
The ex-Dundee United full-back, 29, left the Tannadice club at the end of last season and was without a club until Falkirk came calling. He was taking part in the PFA Scotland pre-season camp but quickly made his mind up that playing under McGlynn’s stewardship would suit him down to a tee.
Speaking after the narrow 2-1 defeat to Celtic in Glasgow on Saturday, Strain said: “When he (McGlynn) made that call, I said to my agent that I wanted the move to happen as soon as possible. It wasn’t something I had to really think over. Falkirk a football-based team, they play the right way. And I am a very technical player, it suits me. I am really enjoying it here.
“I didn’t have much going for me during the off season. Falkirk got in contact with me and I have loved it since joining. I’m starting to really enjoy my football again. Hopefully I can kick on now. There is competition for places here but that is always a good thing. I just want to get a full year under my belt with no injuries and play as much as possible.”
The 29-year-old has now managed three 90 minutes on the spin for Falkirk in the Premiership but he hasn’t yet been part of a winning team on league duty. He believes however that the first win will “come soon” after his team-mates put on a strong second-half display against Celtic that could have secured a point late on.
Camilo Duran’s early brace was enough for Martin O’Neill’s side to get the victory over the line despite Colby Donovan’s own goal - which came from superb Falkirk play - giving the visitors real hope with twenty minutes to go.
“Yeah, definitely, we could have taken something,” Strain said. “It was probably the worst possible start you could have here, conceding so early in that manner. Beforehand, what we spoke about was getting through that opening 15/20 minutes. Make sure that you don’t concede. They had a really bad result on Tuesday night, and you are thinking that they would be under pressure if we managed to get through that opening period. But we conceded after four minutes and then lost the second goal.
“The reaction to going 2-0 down was very good. We grew into the game and played really well.“I felt that we were very comfortable during that second half. There were a good few parts of the game that we did really well in for sure. In the first half, we could have played better but we battled back in the second half and in the end we were disappointed to lose.”
He added: “There are good aspects that we can take from the performance ahead of Wednesday night against Rangers. If we can play like we did in the second half, then we've got a chance against anyone, including Rangers. Celtic are probably the best team in the league, and to play like that in the second half with confidence in the way that we moved the ball around was promising. We just have to be a little bit more clinical in the final third and I think we will be alright.