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TOM Taiwo reckons Falkirk had ‘forgotten’ to do the things that earned them success last season – but gave their Championship rivals a reminder at the weekend they cannot be written off.
The former Chelsea and Hibs midfielder helped clinch victory over Raith Rovers on Saturday with his side’s second in their 2-0 triumph after John Baird’s first-half opener.
It was a third successive win for Peter Houston’s side after an indifferent start to the campaign that saw them knocked out of the Betfred Cup and take just one point from a possible nine in the league.
And Taiwo believes the soul-searching that followed those disappointing performances earlier in the season helped to get to the root of the problem and uncover a solution.
He said: “When you have such a good spell, like we did last season, and you finish second, you believe you’re a good team and you believe you’re good players.
“And, sometimes, you forget to do the things that got you there to start with.
“But, sometimes, it’s got to be ugly for 10, 15, 20 minutes and you’ve got to do the nasty side of the game, where you’re running and tackling and chasing, and keeping to a shape.
“It might not look pretty but, as long as you can keep going, the quality can shine through, like it has done.
“That is what we lacked in the first couple of games of the season.”
HANGOVER
Falkirk finished second in the Championship last term and defeated Hibs in the play-off semi-final before falling at the final hurdle in their bid for promotion in the final against Kilmarnock.
That bitter blow still resonated until only recently, according to Taiwo, who now firmly believes the Bairns – who are still in fifth place, a full eight points behind leaders Hibs – are on an upward spiral.
The 26-year-old said: “It’s difficult when you’re bringing in new boys, who don’t know the way you play, and you’re trying to gel them into the team.
“We had a short break and we’ve almost come back with a hangover, I think, from the disappointing result at the end of the season.
“We’ve taken our time to get over that, we know, but now we’re showing a good run of form and there’s no reason why we can’t push on from here and push up the league.”
