BY IAIN COLLIN – @CCP_sport
Paul Watson watched on with jealousy as Falkirk marched all the way to the Scottish Cup final last season and believes they can go one better and win the tournament this time round.
Watson joined the Bairns from Raith Rovers in the summer and confesses last term’s exploits played a part in him deciding to join Peter Houston’s outfit.
The 25-year-old insists the Championship contenders could easily have lifted the trophy at Hampden last May, when a late winner from James Vincent instead landed Inverness Caley Thistle the silverware.
And, although he accepts a repeat of that run will be tough, the former Livingston defender is setting high targets.
Speaking before today’s trip to Dundee was postponed, Watson said: “Of course you’re a bit jealous when you see a club like Falkirk getting to the Scottish Cup final.
“I watched the final and I actually thought they should have won the cup.
“I remember watching them beat Hibs in the semi-final as well and, as a player, you want to go on cup runs and do as well as you can.
“So, coming to a team that had been in the Scottish Cup final was a big part of me coming here.
“The manager’s managed to keep most of the boys together and added one or two more since then.
“You can see that in the dressing room; it’s really strong, there’s a great team spirit amongst the boys, and I think it’s showing on the pitch just now.
One step further
“You’ve got to think you can go one step further. You’ve got to be positive and you don’t want to fear anybody.
“It’s the luck of the draw as well. You’ve got to avoid certain teams but you never know what can happen.
“Obviously, to win a Scottish Cup is not easy. You don’t get to the final every year, but it would be great to get another good cup run.”
Falkirk currently have burgeoning belief thanks to an 11-game unbeaten sequence, with one of their nine wins in that impressive run being last month’s shock victory over Rangers.
However, if they are to pull off an upset when the Dundee clash is rearranged, Watson admits they will have to prove they have learned their lessons from the embarrassment of their last encounter with Premiership opponents – the 7-0 thrashing from Ross County in September’s League Cup tie.
He added: “The Ross County game still hurts us as a team. You try and put it to the back of your memory and move on from it.
“It was just one of these things that happens in football but we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again
“The morale’s obviously high at the moment. After beating Rangers the next three games were massive and we got nine points so we’re delighted.
“I saw part of Dundee’s game against Dundee United last weekend and Paul Hartley’s done a good job there.
“But on our day we think we’re as good as any team.”
