Gorgie legend Steven Pressley admits that plotting Falkirk's path back to the SPL is all-consuming - but that is exactly the way he likes it

IT'S how you might imagine the inside of a NASA space station. There are laptops, Blackberrys, projectors, wires and screens all around.

Behind is a wall-mounted whiteboard with diagrams that would do justice to a quantum physicist. "Don't you be looking at that," says a voice. I sheepishly angle my chair in the other direction.

This is the Falkirk manager's office, home to Steven Pressley for up to ten hours a day. He is friendly and welcoming as long as I don't glance at any of the surrounding top-secret tactical information. He introduces Ross Wilson, the club's director of football development and owner of the mysterious voice. Then he sits down with a firm "right then," indicating he is ready to begin.

Tomorrow's cross-Forth derby with Dunfermline is of huge importance and Pressley's preparations are in full swing. In fact, they never stop. At 37, he recently completed his first year as a manager characterised by a strict attention to detail. It's one of his fortes. At Stirling University, where Falkirk's training complex comprises two full-size grass pitches, plus Astroturf and their own stand-alone office block, he is busily plotting for the weekend. There is just enough time for an engaging chat.

And he does all the talking. His views on football are as fascinating as they are wide-ranging. But through it all shines his thoroughness and meticulous approach. If there is such a thing as football OCD, Pressley suffers from it big time. Just don't expect him to seek help.

"I absolutely love the job, I love all aspects of the job," he says. "It's what I imagined it to be and more, to be honest, in terms of time-consuming. The amount of hours we do, the amount of time we spent preparing for the season ahead, for games, for transfer windows. There is so much organisation if you want to do the job properly and leave no stone unturned. We try our utmost to do that.

"Whether it's analysing opposition, planning our next game, planning our training, we cover all aspects of our play. Then it's scouting for new players. It's relentless and there aren't enough hours in the day sometimes. That is the truth, it's a 24/7 job and I don't think people truly understand the amount of hours a manager does.

"Each day I arrive here about 8.15am. I generally don't leave, unless I'm going to games, until 5pm. Two weeks ago I was here then down to Stranraer at night and didn't get home till half past midnight. The night before it was 2.30am after going to watch a game in England. "My day consists very much of working and preparing for the weekend's game. Powerpoint presentations, putting together our analysis of the opposition, of how we intend to play against them. We work towards certain fundamentals which you'll see up there." He points to an A4 sheet of paper containing a list of Falkirk's five footballing principles, from passing the ball to winning second balls.

"We continually analyse things. Every week everything from personal performances to team performance is logged. I love that side of it. When I came here under Eddie May I coached for the first six or seven months on the training field. I took the vast majority of the daily sessions. I actually enjoy it more when I take only part of the sessions. I enjoy the tactical aspects of the training and the game-related parts. Lee (Bullen, his assistant) does a lot of the other aspects of coaching, I do a lot of the preparation work and man-management. We have a good combination."

By now Pressley has minimised the video on his laptop showing a previous encounter against Dunfermline which had been projected on to the large screen at the back of the office. He has switched off literally, on this occasion, to ensure nothing is given away. Every avenue which might bring Falkirk an advantage is precious.

Asking him to turn off in his head is another matter. I inquire how the job impacts on his personal life. Before he can answer, one of the mobile phones rings. "Talkin' about personal life, that's my wife." With impeccable timing, June Pressley is calling to discuss arrangements to ferry their son, Aaron, to his own football training that evening. Her husband takes the call before resuming his conversation.

"It's difficult when you have a young family. It does have an impact and it's so difficult to switch off. Even sometimes when I'm with my kids my mind is elsewhere. At times you feel a little bit guilty for it. When I'm with my kids they should be getting my full focus but there are so many parts to your job and so many responsibilities that it's hard to put them out of your head.

"See, since I've had the job, I don't think I have properly switched off. We've spoken about that and it's a part of the job I need to start addressing. The club has been in a real transitional period and it's been relentless since the relegation from the SPL. Given time, I hope the job will become a bit easier. I think this initial period has called for our full undevided time.

"Plus the truth is that, in football like anything else, you can do it two ways. I could come in here at nine in the morning and leave at one in the afternoon, and put everything to chance. I might actually achieve better results, but in the long term I will not. Eventually it catches you up. So there's two ways, the proper way and the other way. If it doesn't happen for you, at least you can look back and say 'I applied myself properly'."

The professional within him makes Pressley an all-encompassing manager. He willingly deals with everyone from directors to your regular Falkirk fan in a job which, for many, would be overwhelming. He explains how he was well prepared for it. "It's funny but my time at Hearts very much geared me towards this, it was an early education for me. I had to deal with a lot of that side of things during my captaincy there. It groomed me in some respects."

Does he always manage to stay calm, though? "No, no. If you're passionate about football it comes with the territory. Until somebody takes on the job of a manager it's very difficult to make any sort of judgment. It's a really, really pressured and emotional job. I can totally sympathise with the likes of Neil Lennon and Ally McCoist at the Old Firm, where the pressures on these two clubs are enormous."

At Falkirk, the difficulties are more logistical. Significant time and resource is devoted to analytical aspects, hence the manager's office resembling an astronaut's bedroom. But Pressley would like more. "Since the relegation, our staff budget was cut in two, our first-team player budget was cut in two and we had to reduce costs in our academy and throughout the club. But we still had to be as professional as possible.

"For the analysis work we have resourced an extra staff member through the university. But he can only give us a certain amount of time. Ideally I would like a full-time analysis expert, more than one in fact. Because we haven't got the resources then we have to do it ourselves but it's good for our education. Every single day I try to learn.

"I had a fans forum when I spoke about the pressures here. We were left with 12 players last season and a shoestring budget to recruit others. Within those 12 players, five or six of them had virtually no first-team experience. Yet we were expected to try to win the league this year. If you look at other sides in this league, they are filled with experience. I think our young players have performed exceptionally well."

One of the more experienced teams is Dunfermline, tomorrow's visitors to the Falkirk Stadium. "I know in everybody's eyes it's a huge game but we prepare the same way," says Pressley. "We go through the same procedures, the same analysis work and attention to detail. There's nothing different but there is a greater intensity to the game, no doubt about it."

Prospects of promotion to the SPL this season remain realistic given Falkirk sit 11 points behind the First Division leaders Raith Rovers with two games in hand. If it does not materialise, there should be no knee-jerk reaction. Pressley puts down his coffee and leans forward to explain the progress made and the importance of keeping the faith.

"We had an indifferent period about two months ago. We had eight weeks without football, an enforced winter break. When we got back playing there were some indifferent results. During that period it's about keeping the belief and getting through it.

"I think one of the biggest problems facing people in football and life in general right now is this: at the first sign of difficulty, they want to remove the person from the job. If a manager loses two games he has to go. The true test of a manager is during adversity. But any sign of that in society these days and we've got to do something, bloody hell. Blame somebody, let's get them out. How do you know if a manager is a good manager if you remove him after a few defeats? That is the true test of him.

"I was delighted at the Colin Calderwood situation. People were calling for his head after what, 14 games? Hibs could've removed him, put someone else in place who might have won five games on the bounce. Then everybody would've said, ‘Colin Calderwood's gone, this new guy's a saviour'. But they stuck by him and he turned it around. That should be a signal to many clubs and I think it's a big problem in our game and in society. Blame and remove, no stability.

"I was reading a book the other day: Football Management by Sue Bridgewater. Within the book she does a business course on football management and at the start of the course she says to everyone, ‘I really don't know why you want to be a football manager. It is the worst job in terms of pressures. It's labour-intensive, results-driven, little time in the job etc'. She just says she doesn't know why anyone would want to be a football manager. I would argue differently."

With that, it's a handshake, outside for a few photos and then back to the laptops, phones and projectors. I'm left with the impression that were it a space mission, kids, football or any other task, Steven Pressley would be in there with heart and soul.