Managerial changes at Stenhousemuir won't alter Falkirk plan in Scottish Cup

Falkirk's fact-finding missions to get the lowdown on Scottish Cup opponents Stenhousemuir have not been affected by the recent managerial changes at Ochilview.
Ray McKinnon. Picture: Michael GillenRay McKinnon. Picture: Michael Gillen
Ray McKinnon. Picture: Michael Gillen

Stenhousemuir dispensed with the services of Brown Ferguson after almost four years in charge earlier this month and senior players led by Colin McMenamin have taken control of the last two games, and will again on Saturday.

But the set-up has been similar to what Ray McKinnon has already had reported on from the recent spying secondments to watch the Warriors.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I know Brown Ferguson really well,” McKinnon said this week. “And we had been anticipating him being in charge for the game, but unfortunately he’s lost his job.

Ray McKinnon replaced Paul Hartley at Westfield. Picture Michael Gillen.Ray McKinnon replaced Paul Hartley at Westfield. Picture Michael Gillen.
Ray McKinnon replaced Paul Hartley at Westfield. Picture Michael Gillen.

“We’ll approach the game the same as every week. We had them watched over the past few weeks and we’ve got our reports on them. We’ll treat it like every game we prepare for.

“I know they’re still interviewing for the job, but nothing changes from our side. They’ve set-up similarly in the past three games so our approach will be the same.”

With a positive run of results in the league recently, extending the feel-good factor with a derby win is important for the Bairns’ momentum.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

McKinnon said: “It’s another good opportunity to keep the momentum we’ve got going because since Ross County we haven’t deserved to lose any game and we’ve begun to pick up points.

“The way we’re responding has been great and we want to keep it going. A run helps in all aspects of the club. We want to be involved.

“We consider the Scottish Cup as huge for this club. We want to win it, we want to be in the hat for the next round, we want progress and another tie in January and that’s what we’re looking for on Saturday.”

McKinnon will have Zak Rudden and Demi Petravicius back from international duty and will “wrap them in cotton wool” after their midweek exertions. Petravicius scored in Lithuania’s 4-1 defeat to Serbia and Rudden helped Scotland under-19s to a 2-2 draw with Sweden.