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Falkirk manager Peter Houston admits he has to refrain from being too critical of his team – otherwise the players will just see him as a ‘grumpy old man’.
Houston was disappointed with his side’s performance at the weekend, despite watching the Bairns collect a fifth successive win in a 2-0 victory over Ayr United.
After a slow start to the campaign, Falkirk, who travel to manager-less St Mirren on Saturday, have climbed up to third in the Championship and former Dundee United boss Houston admits he tries not to be too hard on the players.
Houston said: “I was disappointed with Saturday’s performance and the players were disappointed as well. I can’t remember a home performance as poor as that.
“But I’ve got to rise above that and think about what the boys have done over the last five games.
“You’re happy because you’ve won but you’re annoyed because of the performance.
“I’ve got to be careful I don’t hammer them too much but what I will do is make them aware of improvements they need to make – our choice of pass and decision-making wasn’t great.
“But the end result was three points and that’s what we asked for.
“I would just be seen as a grumpy old man if I was hard on them but we want to keep the standards high.”
Houston, meanwhile, admits defender Aaron Muirhead could be sidelined for another six weeks after undergoing a knee operation.
The former Patrick Thistle player has not played since the August 27 victory over Dumbarton.
Houston added: “Aaron got his operation last week to tidy up the cartilage in his knee.
“The swelling’s gone down a bit and that’s him back starting his rehab right away.
“They say it will be four to six weeks before he goes to see the surgeon again – but he says he’ll be playing by that time.
“I think Aaron’s had a tidy-up on the cartilage in his other knee before and he knows the script.
“He’ll try his best to get back quicker because he’ll not like the fact he’s out the team and the team’s winning.
“It will be good to get big Peter (Grant) and Aaron back when it comes to it because we’re a bit thin defensively again.”
