RAY McKINNON insists Falkirk can still mastermind a great escape as the Bairns boss vowed that there will be more twists and turns in the Championship fight for survival.
A dismal display 2-0 defeat in their pivotal clash with fellow strugglers Morton on Saturday saw McKinnon’s men slump to the foot of the table with just six points left to play for.
To make their situation even starker, those fixtures are against the division’s top two, Dundee United and Ross County.
Indeed, Falkirk could officially be relegated if they lose to United at Tannadice this weekend and results elsewhere go against them.
That would be a particularly cruel twist of fate for McKinnon, who represented the Tayside club over two spells as a player, making 122 appearances, before a 17-month stint as manager from May 2016.
However, the 48-year-old is refusing to consider the worst case scenario as he issued a rallying cry to his side.
McKinnon said: “There are always twists and turns. Always. And I’m certain there will be some to come in this fight.
“There are six points to play for and we want them all. Why can’t we? Why not? We’ll be drumming that into the players.
“I know I am approaching the United game with real positivity and we’ll have the team thinking the same way.
“We have been in this dogfight all season. That threat [relegation] has been there for us all the while, so that’s not new. We have been near the bottom of the league all season and have kept fighting. Saturday will be no different.
“We’ve got a great away record this season and we’ll go up there ready to give everything and believing that we can get the result.
United Front
“There are six points still to play for and we’ll try to get all six. We won’t stop scrapping.”
And McKinnon is adamant unity will be required for the Bairns to beat the drop.
Supporters were audibly disgruntled as Falkirk slipped to a costly reverse against Morton, with chants of ‘sack the board’ clear as some fans rebelled against those who have overseen the club’s decline over the past 18 months.
But McKinnon said: “I don’t want to get drawn on anything to do with the board or anything like that. My job is to focus on football and nothing else.
“We need togetherness right now – a united front.”
