Brad Spencer on 'undervalued' Falkirk boss John McGlynn and getting a shot at Scottish Premiership football

Brad Spencer reckons Falkirk can toe-to-toe with any team in the country after securing a second successive SPFL title last Friday night after a 3-1 win over Hamilton Accies.

The Bairns came from a goal down to secure the trophy on the final matchday after a nervy end to the campaign. Falkirk sat 11 points clear at the top but couldn’t quite the title over the line early. And midfielder Spencer - who was named PFA Scotland Championship player of the year - says that his team-mates simply “brushed off” any talk that the Bairns would blow it with neutrals hoping for an almighty upset.

Brad Spencer’s ‘relief’ after securing title

“It's a big relief,” Spencer said after becoming a Scottish Championship winner. “For five weeks it's been a long, hard graft I would say. A lot of emotion, especially after certain games. Been really low at times and it's just a testament to the group and how much character is in here. Especially to go down early doors and come back out and still play the way we played is brilliant. It also shows you how difficult it is to achieve something like that.

“This wasn’t easy. I think the hardest part was getting over the line. As much as people would say we were 11 points clear, it's just about getting over the line and that's what we found tough. For so long, people were calling us all sorts, especially after the back-to-back defeats to Raith and Thistle. It's just a credit to everybody that can take that on the chin and brush it off and come out here and play the way we did. I would think if we had been playing poorly then I would say yes (to bottling it). But that never once came into our heads considering how we played. Against Partick Thistle, I thought we played really well again. Probably played better with 11 men than we did with 10. It's just one of these things, it's just a wee bit tough getting over the line at times and we found that this year. But obviously today is special to do it in front of our own fans, 7,000 here, it's just brilliant.”

John McGlynn brought in experience at the right time

On sealing back-to-back promotions having secured an unbeaten Scottish League One trophy previously, Spencer added: “I think it's a credit to the gaffer (John McGlynn) and Smudger (Paul Smith). I think we brought in three players in the summer. One was a keeper and one came from the Lowland League. So it tells you a lot about the group. Then come January we spent a wee bit more, brought in the likes of Scotty and Darragh and Eamonn, things like that. Just all the experience that we needed to get us over the line and I think that was needed in the last five weeks.

“Going up now, we believe in ourselves. We believe that we can go toe-to-toe with anybody in the country. It's not a slight, it's not arrogance, it's just a confidence that we have in ourselves. We went to Parkhead and did really well for 70 minutes. Obviously our legs kind of went out from under us. It just shows the belief that we've got in this group that we just go out and play our game. You never know what can happen in a game of football.

“I don't want to get too ahead of ourselves. We’ve probably got a wee bit of a target on our back. People wanted to see that before the start of this season. We had a target on our back this year. People wanted to shoot at us after that invincible season. Obviously, the first nine games we were sitting top of the league. I think maybe apart from two or three games throughout the year, if that, that’s where we were sitting. It just shows how consistent we've been.”

Spencer eventually followed Hearts-linked McGlynn and Smith to Falkirk having played under the experienced management team at Stark’s Park. The boss was named PFA Scotland manager of the year over the weekend and the midfielder, 28, believes that the Bairns boss is still probably undervalued by some in Scotland. Since joining Falkirk, he has turned the club around, sealing two league titles, a Scottish Cup semi-final run and countless wins over higher-league opposition in just three seasons - all while playing an attractive, attacking brand of football.

“I think if he had a full head of hair and he was Spanish, I think people would call him a genius,” Spencer joked. “Not that they don't already, but they would call him more of a genius. What he's done with this group, this club, he's transformed it and he sold me on it. I'm delighted that I joined him here.

“Definitely, I think so (there’s a bit of snobbery around an experienced boss like McGlynn). I think there's certain clubs that would probably do a lot worse than appointing the gaffer. I'm talking big clubs in this country. I think the way we set us up, I can tell you Sean Mackie’s position, I can tell you Ethan Ross's. Everybody's meant to be in a certain place and that comes from him. He just drills everything in us. We're so well drilled and we never leave any stone unturned. That's a credit to the gaffer. Obviously, we hope to keep a hold of him, that's for sure. If he goes, then God knows where I'll be after that because he's taken me everywhere. I'm just delighted for him and Smudger, definitely.”