Rennie wants three points against the league leaders

The trip to league leaders Cove Rangers comes on the back on a 3-0 away win to Alloa Athletic last midweek, with Jaze Kabia, Craig McGuffie and Paul Watson all getting on the scoresheet, with the second half performance of Falkirk’s best of the cinch League 1 campaign so far.

Speaking to the Herald, Rennie praised the new-found mentality of the squad.

“We are in a really good place now with competition in the squad and the players are really being pushed to find a place in the team,” he said.

“It feels completely different now to what it did when I first joined, and that is pushing the players on in training.

“An important part of building a winning team is having an environment where players are driven throughout the week.”

Looking ahead to the trip to the Balmoral Stadium on Saturday, he said: “They are a solid team and they are an experienced team.

“They’re top of the table at the moment, and they have been for a long spell.

“It will be a really good test for us and we are looking forward to it.

“We’re getting stronger and stronger and we’ve had a chance to work on things with the same players for a period of time.”

The head coach also agreed that a win would go a long way to appeasing the fan base, who expect Falkirk to at the very least ‘turn up and perform’ in big games.

“There’s no two ways about that, and for supporters, they judge progress based on the results but as a coach I judge it on many things,” Rennie explained.

“I’ve seen so much improvement in terms of our team spirit and our mentality that encourages me.

“Three or four weeks ago, I don’t think we would have been ready to go there and take three points because it will be a real test.

“I do understand that results this season against the sides above us haven’t been good enough.”

With Storm Dudley and the upcoming Storm Eunice prompting yellow weather warnings for wind and snow in Aberdeenshire over the weekend, Rennie said it would come into his plans for the match.

“I was there last weekend at their match and the conditions weren’t great, and it did impact the game,” he said.

“I’m guessing it will be a factor on Saturday as the weather is meant to be pretty rough, but it's the same for both sides.

“We just need to prepare for it as best as we can while making sure we focus on playing the way we want to first and foremost.”