Falkirk need to be 'ruthless' in League One, insists McManus

The forward signed on a season-long loan from Ross County and hopes to fire Ray McKinnon's men to promotion and an immediate return to the Scottish Championship.

McManus knows what it takes to be successful at this level, having won the division with Morton and the League One's PFA player of the year in 2014-15.

He stressed the importance of being clinical in front of goal and not giving teams a chance.

The 24-year-old told the Falkirk Herald: "We need to be ruthless.

"There's going to be a lot of games where, like Stranraer, teams come here and be very compact, resolute and know their jobs.

"They've got a game plan of keeping it tight and staying in the game, and they did that well to be fair.

"I think if we were a bit more ruthless, we could have got more goals but teams are going to come here, sit in and soak up pressure and try to grab a goal."

With only four goals last season playing out on the wing at the Staggies, McManus has notched two in two games playing through the middle at Falkirk.

It's a position he enjoys and he has his sights set on hitting the 20-goal mark.

He said: "As a striker you always want to hit that magic mark.

"I always take it in spells. I try to get to double figures first and then once you are at that then 15 and 20. If you go further than that then that is brilliant.

"I've played a lot of last season out wide, so I just want to play through the middle where I know best and where I feel I'm at my best.

"I know I can contribute a lot of goals if I'm used in that position, so that was one of the major things coming here.

"The gaffer has seen me play through the years against the teams that he's had, and he believes in what I can do, so that was a big part of it as well."