Steven Pressley is revelling in his new role as psychological motivator to his Bairns

Published on Saturday 6 March 2010 20:07

STEVEN Pressley watched as the result flashed up on the television. For most of the match the scoreline had been lodged at 0-0 and that had been bad enough. Certainly worse than he had bargained on. It meant his team's biggest relegation rivals had picked up an unexpected point against one half of the Old Firm. But then it got worse. A 90th-minute winner for Inverness Caledonian Thistle was a hammerblow to Falkirk.

Twenty-four hours earlier they had lost to Dundee United and the only consolation was that Rangers were unlikely to permit the Highland side to capitalise. The shock result not only gave Terry Butcher's men a lift, it momentarily took the wind from the Falkirk squad.

Almost exactly a year on and there are certain parallels, except this time it is Falkirk hoping to deliver the mental suckerpunch by taking something from a game most people will have down as an away win.

Anchored at the foot of the Scottish Premier League, they play host to Tony Mowbray's Celtic and, despite the odds, Pressley, who is now charged with the task of engineering top-flight survival as manager, says his team must go into the game believing they can take something from it.

"I still look upon this as a point-earner. I remember last year we were sitting in the house and Inverness were playing Rangers in that midweek game and you sometimes look at fixtures and you think 'that's one they won't get anything from' but they won 1-0 and suddenly we found ourselves bottom of the league. So this is a game where other teams will be thinking Falkirk won't get anything and if we can, it not only gives us a psychological lift, it can affect those other teams as well."

The task is not as daunting as it might seem. Although virtually the entire length of the league table separates the teams and Falkirk have managed to take points from less than half of their fixtures this season, they have enjoyed a modicum of success against the Parkhead team, drawing both home and away. And while big names have been added into the mix by Mowbray since then, there is a feeling that Pressley has bolstered his team as well since taking charge, albeit psychologically.

"I think everybody knows that Elvis as a player was all heart," says full-back Tam Scobbie, "and he really put his body on the line and that's what he has said to the lads, especially the defence, he wants us to really put our head in where it hurts and stand up and be counted and he has set up a formation which allows lads to go and express themselves and everything has been really positive. Even when mistakes happen, he's always there roaring at you to keep working hard. There's not really any negativity about the place and Lee Bullen has stepped into first team training and it's been magnificent.

"In his first statement, Elvis said we are going to stay in the SPL and he has every single one of us really, really believing we can and if we can keep believing and keep working hard then I think we should be OK.

"Elvis has that mentality that no matter who we are playing we go out there and put on a show and give it everything we've got, and at the end of the day if we have given it our best shot and we come off second-best then you hold your hands up and you say 'fair play'. We know it's going to be difficult against Celtic and people aren't going to expect us to get any points but again, look at the last two games against them, people didn't expect anything and we went out there and put them under some pressure so hopefully we can go out there and show the same kind of attitude and desire and get something."

Lagging behind in the chase for survival, and having taken it to the final day of the season last term, Scobbie says the club have shunned the outlook which saw them looking for favours from other teams and psyching themselves up for another last-gasp bid to avoid the drop. He says they now want to tie things up as quickly as possible, the newfound positivity a product of Pressley's own evolution as a coach.

"I came in as a young budding coach at the start of the season and I had my thoughts on what were the most important aspects of management, coaching," he admits. "Initially, I thought the tactical aspect was most important and I had those preconceived ideas but it's not. The tactical aspect gives the players the base to work from but, for me now, I think the psychological aspect is more important.

"I talk a lot to the players about that and it's important we create a winning mentality within this club and also an enjoyment in their work and freedom to express themselves and, as a manager, if you can do that then I think you are part of the way there. We are trying to create a real unity and belief within the club and that doesn't happen overnight but we are working towards that and I have been delighted with the players' response. I think in the three games they have shown a great mentality and great desire."

Which is why, a year on from Inverness' surprise scoreline, the other teams at the bottom of the table will be watching for this afternoon's result with bated breath.