BY IAIN COLLIN – @CCP_sport
Peter Houston knows the Falkirk fans will harbour big expectations now the team has moved into second in the Championship.
But he has backed his side to deal with the pressure of trying to stay in the runners-up spot.
The Bairns leapfrogged Hibs into second with last Saturday’s 2-0 win over bottom side Alloa Athletic and they can move an imposing five points clear with another victory over Dumbarton this afternoon.
And Houston is fully aware they will get it in the neck if they pass up the opportunity.
He said: “There will be expectation. The expectation of the Falkirk fans has always been great.
“They expected us to beat Alloa on Saturday and if we hadn’t we would have got dog’s abuse.
“But that’s football and that’s the way football fans are now, and it’s come to be expected.
“You’ve got to be able to do it and go out and handle that pressure.
“We’re going to Dumbarton and there will be a certain pressure on, because I think Dumbarton under Stevie Aitken are coming on fine; he’s done well down there.
“We’ll just focus on the job and grind away at them and work hard and try and pass the ball, and hopefully take our chances when they com.”
Houston has been able to rely on a select band of players for most of the campaign, with his side showing few changes from game to game.
And, despite the prospects of a potentially gruelling play-off schedule on the horizon, the Falkirk manager is set to shun the temptation to tinker with his line-up in the coming weeks.
He added: “I think I’ll maintain the level of consistency in the team selection, if the players are doing the business.
“I don’t see me being able to change six or seven players, or anything like that.
“It’s one of these things where they’re a confident team, a good group and they work hard during the course of matches.
“They don’t always play well and sometimes we’ve scraped results. But that’s all it is just now, it’s about getting results.”
