TOMMY ROBSON knows exactly how relegation would feel – after revealing that he was sure Falkirk had already gone down last week.
He will do anything to avoid that ‘devastation’ for real.
Robson was unable to stop the Bairns from crashing to a 2-0 defeat against Dundee United seven days ago and, knowing that an Alloa win over Inverness would condemn them to the drop, he was attempting to read the Tannadice crowd.
And he was convinced that results elsewhere had gone against Falkirk as the final whistle blew, prompting a feeling of utter despair.
However, much to his relief, the Wasps had suffered a 2-1 reverse at home to the Caley Jags to hand Ray McKinnon’s men a reprieve. It means they can avoid automatic relegation on Saturday if they beat Ross County at home and Alloa lose at Ayr United.
Robson recalled: “I am not going to lie – I thought we were down last Saturday. I heard the Dundee United fans cheering and I thought it was because Alloa had scored again. I thought: ‘That’s it’.
“I was totally devastated. It felt like everything had been ripped out of me.
“It was only afterward that someone explained to me that Dundee had conceded in the last minute and that’s why the United fans were cheering!
“It could be another one of those days when you are getting clues from the crowd about what’s going on elsewhere – but I don’t want that feeling [of relegation] for real this weekend.”
Robson confesses that he never expected Falkirk’s fate to come down to a nerve-shredding final day.
The Bairns started 2019 with just one defeat in their opening 12 matches following a major upheaval in the January transfer window. However, the wheels came off when it really mattered.
Positive
Home reverses against relegation rivals Alloa and Morton were particularly damaging to their survival hopes, leaving the Bairns needing snookers.
He rued: “I really didn’t think it would come down to this. There were times over the second half of the season where we have picked up some good results and there were stages throughout when I thought: ‘We’re going to be alright here’.
“That’s why the losses to Morton and Alloa were so frustrating, we let ourselves down against the teams around us and that’s the problem.
“But we have just got to stay positive and see what happens.
“We can’t think about Alloa. We can only do our part and if Alloa lose, then they lose. The bottom line is if we don’t go and do what we have to do, then it doesn’t matter what happens in the other game.”
