'We'll handcuff him to the stadium' - Falkirk ace Finn Yeats on keeping boss John McGlynn and scoring against Celtic

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Finn Yeats has joked that his Falkirk team-mates are prepared to handcuff John McGlynn to their stadium in a bid to keep the well-respected gaffer at the club.

Former Raith Rovers manager McGlynn, 62, has already led the Bairns back to the second tier, having won an invincible Scottish League One title – and earned an appearance in a Scottish Cup semi-final as a third tier club – while playing an attractive brand of football.

And his stock has risen further this season with Falkirk having won five out of five in the Scottish Championship and went toe-to-toe with Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals.

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Opposition boss Brendan Rodgers hailed the Bairns as the “best team” his side had played this season far – and Celtic Park goalscorer Yeats was full of praise for his manager.

Falkirk ace Finn Yeats celebrates his goal against Celtic last Sunday (Photo: Michael Gillen)Falkirk ace Finn Yeats celebrates his goal against Celtic last Sunday (Photo: Michael Gillen)
Falkirk ace Finn Yeats celebrates his goal against Celtic last Sunday (Photo: Michael Gillen)

"He’s massive,” Yeats said after the 5-2 defeat. “He’d just come in when I first signed for Falkirk and you could tell already he had a game plan and a two year project.

“Look at what we’ve done. We were invincible last season and still unbeaten in the league this year.

“He’s great for the confidence of the boys and a great manager for us players as he helps you out and wants you to get on the ball.

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“I’m not surprised there is interest in him. Do we want to handcuff him to the stadium? I think the fans do too! He’s been so on the ball for a couple of seasons now.

Falkirk boss John McGlynn on the touchline during the tie against Celtic (Photo: Michael Gillen)Falkirk boss John McGlynn on the touchline during the tie against Celtic (Photo: Michael Gillen)
Falkirk boss John McGlynn on the touchline during the tie against Celtic (Photo: Michael Gillen)

“That’s up to John but I’m pretty sure he’d like to stay. We’ll find out, but hopefully we will be in the Premiership next season playing against the top boys.

“We can’t get too excited as there’s usually a drop off after games like Sunday, but we need to get back to business.”

On his shock goal on the stroke of half time against the Hoops, ex-Aberdeen youngster Yeats admitted that it was the biggest moment of his career so far having come back into the starting eleven for the Parkhead trip.

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“I don’t score too many goals, to be honest,” he said. “I think I’ve scored about once in two years.

“It was a good ball and I headed it clean, back across the goal and it trundled in. It was probably the biggest moment in my career and I’ll remember it for a good while.

"I was looking to do a knee slide! It was a good time to score, right on halftime, but they brought on their big boys and they finished us off.

“I’ve got legs – even though I came off with cramp after 65 minutes! The first half was about getting up to the box as much as possible. Overall, I was delighted with my performance.

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“We are quite a confident group, and we showed that on Sunday by playing our stuff and not lying down to Celtic.

“But to go there and score two goals should give us massive belief we can go and take this league by storm.

“It’s still really early so it’s about getting back to business against Raith. The boys were saying afterwards it was such a buzz going there and you want to go twice a season.

“We can take confidence from knowing we can go there and play.”

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