John McGlynn's ruthless substitutions 'a good trait to have' reckons Bairns midfielder Steven Hetherington

The Falkirk midfielder was one of five substitutions made by the boss in the 3-0 defeat to Dundee at home in the SPFL Trust Trophy fourth round last Thursday.

“I’d give him credit for that,” Hetherington said of McGlynn’s eagerness to make changes. “If he isn’t happy with something then he’ll change it sooner rather than later. That is a couple of times this year he had made a number of changes in our poorer performances. Against Kelty Hearts he did the same thing and I think it will really help us.

“He doesn’t just leave a game to see how it goes and I think that is a good trait to have. I thought that we played way better in the second half which is easy to say as they were 2-0 up, but I do think the changes made a real difference.

“The reaction from our team talk at the break was really good and it looked like we could have got back into the game. We huffed and puffed a little but it was one of them that if we got a goal back, I really felt we would have gone on to equalise.

“The difference was that Dundee were clinical in both boxes and the third goal killed the game. We spoke afterwards as a group about having that desire to keep a clean sheet and to put our bodies on the line because a result like that has happened too many times this campaign so far.”

The Bairns face Alloa Athletic on Saturday as they look to arrest their up-and-down form, with former Wasps captain Hetherington admitting it is tough place to go.

He said: “They have players that can cause other teams problems. Alloa are one of those teams that are just a very well-run part time set-up. Everyone stays around for a while because they do things on and off the park in the right manner. I was there for a while too.

“It is always a tough place to go and I know from my time at the club that the goal at home is always to make it difficult for the other team. It won’t change on Saturday but we have to really stand up to that.

"What we don’t do enough is show a real character on the park and play with a real conviction to say we are taking the three points and be relentless in our play.”