Bairns boss John McGlynn hails hat-trick hero Barney Stewart after Falkirk teach Hibs a footballing lesson.

John McGlynn hinted that hat-trick hero Barney Stewart is one of the Falkirk stars he is trying to secure on a new contract following the forward’s incredible showing against Hibs.

The former Heriot-Watt University ace, 21, scored three times to get off the mark in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday as he and his team-mates taught David Gray’s side a lesson. The Bairns moved within two points of the Easter Road outfit after thrashing them 4-1 on home turf. And Stewart finished off three fine moves to cement his spot in the starting eleven after coming at half time last time out during the Scottish Cup tie at Hearts.

Barney Stewart hat-trick ‘incredible’, says boss

“Wow! You know, where he was 13 months ago, we keep on going on about it,” McGlynn beamed, highlighting the striker’s rise having played in the East of Scotland league system just over a year ago. “We took him from Heriot-Watt University and he scored a couple of goals for us in the Championship. He then gets that injury in pre-season, tears a metatarsal which means he's not played for a long time. It was ideal for him to go to Dunfermline, come back and his personality is amazing. He's got to stay in the right place today to get goals and that's what we've been missing. I couldn't be happier for him and for everyone involved.

“It is incredible, absolutely incredible. It's very difficult going and watching him play for Heriot-Watt University and thinking, can he do it? You know, because that's the question that you're asking yourself. But there's really much to lose on it. He’ll probably be the lowest paid player in the Premiership right now. There's no betting on that, but if it was, it would be worth opening a bet on that. I can almost guarantee.”

The boss added when asked if a new deal was on the cards: “A raise? He’s not getting out until he signs that new contract.”

John McGlynn: Hibs win is one of our best yet

Sheffield United loanee Louie Marsh also grabbed his first Bairns goal to round off the rout against Hibs, and McGlynn hailed his side’s performance. The Bairns were missing standout performer Filip Lissah and Tynecastle goal hero Ben Parkinson but the likes Keelan Adams, Dylan Tait and Calvin Miller shone and Hibs simply couldn’t deal with Falkirk’s silky soccer.

"Is that one of our best performances? Against the calibre team we're playing against, absolutely,” McGlynn added. "We've had a lot of good performances. We beat St Mirren and Aberdeen, we went toe-to-toe with Celtic and did particularly well. We went to Tynecastle last week (against Hearts in the Scottish Cup) and put up a great performance and win on penalties. But to go back-to-back wins against the two teams in Edinburgh , who have been doing great, yeah, over the moon. For the level that they're playing at, the performances that they're putting on, they were top drawer. Before three o’clock, the dangle of the carrot was that we could move within two points of Hibs. The league table is looking very nice.”