'Not right in the heid' - Ross MacIver hails Falkirk and football daft management duo John McGlynn and Paul Smith

The striker, 25, was delighted to welcome back assistant boss Smith – who suffered a heart attack after the recent Scottish Cup exit against Raith Rovers – to work on Monday morning as preparations got underway like any other week for the next game.

And that is a big one with the Bairns hosting title rivals Livingston in the William Hill Championship on Friday night, with the match being shown live on BBC Scotland.

"I've never seen someone come back to work after a heart attack within a week,” MacIver said of Smith’s return.

"I don't think any player can ever complain about being injured ever again! It's great to have him back. It's not nice to see what happened previously.

"Coming back after a week is amazing and it's always great to have him around the team.

"You saw when the gaffer had his hip replacement too, he had it on the Friday and then was trying to make the game on the Saturday.

"I think the boys had to tell him no! You see that Smudger is the same. Had a heart attack, has an operation on Wednesday and is then back at the game on Saturday.

"The two of them are just not right in the heid! They just love football and love Falkirk."

MacIver heads into Friday night on the back of grabbing his third league goal of the campaign at Stark’s Park last weekend.

He was in his element playing up top with Falkirk changing their style to go direct quickly.

MacIver said: "I was at Alloa before and all I got was long balls up the park! I quite enjoyed a different way of playing.

"As a striker you go through spells of not scoring goals. You're always trying to put a run together so hopefully I can manage to do that.

"I knew the goalie was out of position and would be running back to his goal. I thought if I hit it near post there'd be a chance he wouldn't get his feet there in time.

"Unfortunately it took about 35 bounces... but eventually it went in."

The Bairns sit just two points clear over Ayr United at the summit – but the striker was quick to quell the importance of finally getting three points against David Martindale’s side.

So far this season, Falkirk have managed a point at home in a 0-0 versus the Lions before losing 1-0 in West Lothian in the reverse fixture.

"It's an exciting one. Everyone knows what this game could mean to us,” MacIver said.

"It's been exciting sessions the last few days and everyone's buzzing for Friday night. It's not essential to get a result against Livi. There's still a lot of games to go.

"But we always want three points. If we can put back-to-back wins together it will strengthen our position."