Falkirk

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Leon McCann aims to complete Celtic's miserable week by helping Falkirk to a shock win at Parkhead on Saturday.

Martin O'Neill's side are still reeling from their calamitous Champions League play-off exit to LASK.

"It's the hardest place in Scotland you can go for a game," said 26-year-old full-back McCann.

"And it's kind of trying to frustrate them, frustrate the people in the stadium. Obviously not a great result for them the other night.

"We're taking it at 10-minute stages. Just get through the first 10 minutes, 20 minutes, stay compact.

"Try and get a goal and then obviously as the game gets further on - and hopefully they've not scored - then the nerves start to build around the stadium and we kind of need to try to pounce on that.

"Every team's got areas that you can exploit. Don't get me wrong, they're a top team with top players and they've been playing really, really well and scoring a lot of goals as well.

"We're kind of hoping that we can nullify them as much as possible and go there and get a shock result."

John McGlynn kept the core of his Falkirk side together having brought them up through League One to the Premiership where they finished sixth last season.

However, the departure of several players - including Barney Stewart, Calvin Miller, and Dylan Tait - necessitated a revamp and American winger CJ Fodrey joined on a season-long loan from MLS side Austin as Falkirk's 16th summer signing.

McCann insists that McGlynn's easy-on-the-eye football philosophy, which brought so many admirers last season, will remain strong.

He said: "Obviously, we've been a tight-knit group for three, four years now and it's been a big turnover. It's good to get fresh faces and play with different players with different styles.

"I don't think he [McGlynn] will ever change the way he wants to play, which is great for me. I love the way we play.

"He has kind of drummed it into you that he's got standards and he's got specific ways he wants you to play and if you can't commit to that or work as hard as he needs you to work, then he'll find somebody else who can."

Dundee United have made a six-figure bid for Falkirk midfielder Brad Spencer. (Daily Record, external)

Read the rest of Thursday's Scottish gossip.

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Falkirk have signed winger CJ Fodrey from MLS side Austin FC on a season-long loan

The 22-year-old becomes the second American to join the Bairns this week following Jacob Murrell and is the club's 16th summer recruit.

Fodrey was drafted by Austin in 2023 and went on to make 58 appearances, scoring three goals and providing two assists.

"CJ is an attacking player who can play across all four attacking positions," Falkirk head coach John McGlynn said.

"He's a tall, quick, physical player, with a tremendous attitude to work hard for the team and we look forward to working with CJ over the course of this season.

"As the fans will have noticed, we have spread our net far and wide to capture our two latest signings.

"This is due to the competition for players in the UK becoming increasingly difficult and it shows how far we will go to get the right type of player to for us."

Falkirk are targeting a loan deal for Austin winger CJ Fodrey. (Record), external

Read the rest of Wednesday's Scottish gossip.

Grant Heaney
Fan writer

After almost three weeks without a competitive game, Falkirk are finally coming out of cold storage this weekend.

Unfortunately, we couldn't have asked for a much tougher way to get back into the swing of things, with a trip to Glasgow to face Celtic.

And that's only the beginning of what looks an incredibly challenging couple of weeks. We host Rangers the following Wednesday, travel to Dundee United three days later and then return home for midweek action against Hearts.

It's a brutal run of fixtures, particularly when you consider we're still finding our feet with a squad that's undergone such a significant overhaul during the summer.

There is no doubt in my mind we're capable of picking up points during this run, but equally, we have to be realistic enough to recognise it will be difficult.

The next few weeks are likely to test us considerably, but we can't allow ourselves to become too downbeat. One of the biggest reasons we've gone from League One to the top flight in such a short time is the togetherness at the club.

We've seen what can happen when the supporters, manager and players all pull in the same direction, and that unity is going to be every bit as important now as it has been throughout the journey to get here.

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Falkirk have signed Wolves winger Conor McLeod on a season-long loan deal.

McLeod, 19, is yet to make a senior appearance for Wolves, but has impressed for the club's youth sides, while also being capped by England at under-16 level.

"Conor is a winger, and he's one that Allan Fraser watched towards the end of last season and he caught his eye, so we've followed him since then," manager John McGlynn said.

"He's been doing really well in pre-season with Wolves. He scored a couple of goals against Burnley, which is great from his point of view.

"He's a skilful player that will take opposition players on in one vs one situations, and we feel he's someone who will complement the team.

"He's coming in to push for starts and to try to make a name for himself, like a lot of the players we've brought in in these positions have done.

"He's one that we've been doing a good bit of work on. We're delighted to get him, we're looking forward to working with him, and we welcome him to the football club."

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Jacob Murrell offers "something different" to Falkirk, says manager John McGlynn, after the American striker joined from DC United.

Murrell, 22, has signed a two-year deal, with the Bairns holding the option of a further 12 months.

He made 65 appearances, the majority as a substitute, for MLS side DC United, scoring four goals.

"We're delighted to get Jacob in. He's a player we've been aware of for a wee while and one that we feel can bring something different to the group," said manager John McGlynn.

"He's a big, strong boy, he's 6ft 2in, but he's also very mobile. He likes to get in behind and he's got a real eye for goal. He's still only 22, so we think there's a lot more to come from him as well.

"He's been playing at a good level with DC United in the MLS, so he's coming in having had experience in a very competitive league."

Grant Heaney
Fan writer

Having been eliminated from the League Cup during the group stages and with this weekend's game against Hearts postponed due to their continental commitments, fixtures have been thin on the ground for Falkirk fans of late.

For some supporters, the wait to see the Bairns in action again will stretch even further.

When we resume the weekend after next, we'll be away at Celtic. It's obviously going to be a limited allocation for our support, but even those tickets are unlikely to be snapped up given they cost an eye-watering £37 for adult supporters.

If you're willing to settle for a restricted view, you can knock three quid off that.

It's not a surprise this fixture was boycotted by our supporters last season, and if the same happens again this time, you can't blame anyone for taking that stance.

This isn't simply about having a go at Celtic. They're not the only club charging what feels like an excessive amount to watch a game of football, and the wider issue of ticket prices needs to be taken more seriously across the Scottish game.

The Scottish FA is due to hold a "critically important" summit around the future of the national game next month, and this is surely something that needs to be part of that conversation.

England has had an away ticket price cap in place for more than a decade, meaning travelling supporters cannot be charged more than £30.

Uefa also caps away ticket prices in the Champions League and Europa League, while travelling supporters in major European leagues such as Germany and Spain can generally expect to pay less than they do in Scotland, where there is no equivalent protection.

To put that into perspective, a Coventry City supporter can travel to the Emirates on Friday night and pay less to watch their team than a Falkirk supporter will be asked to part with at Celtic Park eight days later.

I won't be making the trip to Parkhead and there are plenty of other Bairns supporters who have made the same decision.

Following your football club is becoming an increasingly expensive commitment and supporters are being asked to shoulder more and more of the cost. Surely it's time the governing bodies stepped in and did more to make fairer ticket prices a reality.

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Falkirk have confirmed the departure of winger Alfredo Agyeman.

The 26-year-old former Kelty Hearts player scored 15 goals in 109 appearances for the Bairns during their rise through the divisions.

Agyeman spent the second half of last season on loan with St Johnstone before he made his final two Falkirk appearances in the Premier Sports Cup group stage.

A club statement read: "We can confirm that Alfredo Agyeman has moved on from the club. Another Invincible, back-to-back champion, and legend departs. Everyone at Falkirk FC wishes Alfie all the very best for the future."

Grant Heaney
Fan writer

After enduring a difficult start to the season in both the League Cup and Premiership, Sunday's 0-0 draw at Motherwell has steadied the ship somewhat and brought a sense of optimism back to the Falkirk Stadium.

The draw was a fair result in the end, with the Bairns looking the more likely victors in the second half.

The biggest positive, and certainly something to build on, was the fact we managed to keep a clean sheet - something we failed to do in nine of our final 10 league matches of last season.

However, the one cause for concern remains our lack of cutting edge up front.

We've failed to score in each of our opening two league games and haven't looked overly creative in the final third.

John McGlynn now has the best part of three weeks to get to work on the training ground, given that we don't have any fixtures until the end of August.

He has also hinted he's looking at bringing in at least another two new arrivals.

I think I speak for most Bairns fans when I say we'd like to see both a striker and a winger to be the two types of players he's targeting.

Falkirk fans, we asked for your views after Sunday's goalless draw away to Motherwell.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Nathan: A great point to gain at the end of the day and I'm glad to be off the mark. It seemed that both sides cancelled each other out with no chances really clear cut. A lot of good individual performances from the whole defensive line to Ben Krauhaus and Ethan Ross in attack, Finley Barbrook looks a fantastic addition to the squad as well.

Hugh: Much better performance from Falkirk, particularly the second half. I thought Barbrook had an outstanding game and looks a real find. Krauhaus was very lively too. I hope Joe Gardner's injury isn't too bad as he was one of the few successes against St. Mirren. I think we're getting towards a quality squad again but need games to fine tune the squad. Still looking for a natural striker but Ben Parkinson is showing some signs.

Andy: Much better performance from Falkirk after the opening game, better fight and energy from the team and a point against Motherwell at Fir Park not to be sniffed at. The new players will take time to gel with the players from last season and up to speed with the style but hopefully a steady season ahead, consolidating our status as a premiership team is the minimum.

Ian: Transition is the phrase being used to describe Falkirk, that is what I see. A great point yesterday, togetherness as a team, just need a cutting edge, against a very good team in Motherwell.

Watch all the action as Motherwell and Falkirk play out a goalless draw at Fir Park to maintain Alfred Johansson's unbeaten start to life at Motherwell. Available to UK users only

Alfred Johansson maintained his unbeaten start to life as Motherwell manager, but his side failed to breakdown Falkirk as the pair played out a lively draw in the Scottish Premiership.

Read the full match report here

Have your say on the game via this link

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Falkirk manager John McGlynn: "A very good point in the end.

"Great work rate from the whole team, we knew we'd have to do that coming here, Motherwell pass the ball so well and the bottom line for us was to work hard and make it difficult for them. There's loads of positives to take from the game, given where we were last week, the attitude was great, commitment was great. That's the minimum standard we should set.

"Great to get a clean sheet as well, we've not been keeping enough. I thought we did better in the second half, maybe there was a little bit of tiredness with Motherwell after their game on Thursday night, we thought that may happen and we wanted to take advantage of it and I think we nearly did.

"I thought it was a real spirited, good team performance.

"We're very much in transition, we'll still got one or two more players to come in. There were loads of positives to take from that, when we get a few games into the season we'll look back and say "what a point that was at Fir Park".

"Finn Yeats hurt his ankle. He did his ankle in Portugal quite badly, I don't think it's as bad as it was then. Fin had been doing really well in the game, hopefully he's not out too long because Ethan Laidlaw has picked up a really bad injury. He's going to need an operation so it will be at least 12 weeks recovery.

"We've got good numbers, good quality, but it's impossible for us to replace Calvin Miller and Barney Stewart, so we're doing the best we can. Numbers wise we're ok. We're negotiating with clubs on loan deals and hopefully we're close to getting these players up."

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland at Bolt Arena, Helsinki

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Alfred Johansson really does take things one game at a time.

On Wednesday, he admitted he "didn't even know about the draw" in relation to potentially facing Freiburg in the Conference League play-offs, and on Thursday, he certainly wouldn't entertain any questions about reaching that stage by defeating HJK Helsinki next week.

For now, the Finnish side is not on his mind. His sole focus is Falkirk on Sunday.

It will be the Swede's first home game in the Scottish Premiership, and though he only joined over the summer, he's acutely aware of the hold the Bairns had over the Steelmen last season.

"They were the nemesis last year," Johansson said in Helsinki, shortly before he and his players hopped on a plane back home to prepare for the meeting with John McGlynn's side after a 1-1 first-leg draw in Finland.

"I don't think anyone cannot be so excited by the opportunity to play them on Saturday.

"The staff have a lot of knowledge about them, I know they're a good team from what I've seen already - including from some of the games last year I watched prior to signing the contract here.

"They're a good team with a lot of energy, a lot of stability within the club and the manager's position.

"They're improving all the time, exceeding expectations and it's going to be a difficult game but we're looking forward to it with confidence.

"They've lost a few players, but we have too so it's going to be a tight game - that's what the Premiership is, isn't it?"

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Motherwell pair Regan Charles-Cook and Alex Lowry will be checked after going off injured against HJK Helsinki but Ibrahim Said is available, having missed the Finland trip because of a visa issue. Eythor Bjorgolfsson is pushing for a comeback but Dylan Williams, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos (calf), Jordan McGhee (hamstring), Paul McGinn, Callum Hendry and Stephen O'Donnell (all knee) are set to remain sidelined.

Falkirk could hand a debut to new midfielder Finlay Barbrook but Scott Tanser (groin), Keelan Adams, Ethan Laidlaw, Tom Lang and Aidan Nesbitt (all ankle) are injured while captain Brad Spencer is suspended.

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Ipswich midfielder Finley Barbrook has joined Falkirk on a season-long loan from the promoted English Premier League side but boss John McGlynn still wants three more signings.

The 21-year-old became McGlynn's 13th summer signing and joins the Bairns as they prepare for Sunday's trip to Motherwell but the Falkirk boss isn't done with his summer business.

The 6ft2 defensive midfielder spent last season on loan with Colchester United in English League Two where he scored one goal in 16 league appearances.

"Finley's someone we've had on the radar for some time," McGlynn said.

"Obviously I would have liked to have got him in a bit quicker but we're delighted to have him.

"He's had loans at other clubs which is a big plus when you're bringing players in. He's quite an all-rounder in that he can take the ball deep, he can make passes, he's athletic, he gets about the pitch.

"The size of him, that physicality is something that we've been trying to find without losing the quality. Sometimes when you go bigger, big guys can't do some of the things that the tiny wee guys can do, and likewise, but he's a well-balanced boy. We've been needing someone exactly like that.

"We've been patient waiting on him because he was the one that we wanted."

When asked if he was still on the look out for more new recruits, McGlynn added: "It could be as many as three, maybe three more if everything goes to plan and if we're lucky enough to get it done.

"It isn't easy, but we have the scope to do it and we're trying to do it."

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• Motherwell are winless in six league meetings with Falkirk (D2 L4) since a 1-0 victory in October 2009.

• Falkirk have won each of their past three league visits to Motherwell, each by a different scoreline: 1-0 in April 2010, 2-1 in October 2025, and 3-2 in April 2026.

• Motherwell started their Scottish Premiership season with a 2-1 away win against Hibernian – they have not won their first two matches in a season since 2007-08 under Mark McGhee.

• Since a 1-0 home win over Motherwell in May, Falkirk have lost all four of their matches in the Premiership. Their last longer losing run came between May and August 2008 (five in a row).

• Motherwell's Lukas Fadinger has scored three goals in his past five Scottish Premiership appearances, two more than he managed in his first 30 appearances in the competition (1).

Grant Heaney
Fan writer

There are plenty of uncertainties in the new campaign, but one thing certain is this will be Falkirk's final season playing on an artificial surface at the Falkirk Stadium.

Top-flight clubs agreed last year synthetic pitches would be phased out, with grass becoming mandatory from summer 2027.

That decision means clubs with existing artificial pitches can continue using them until then, but the direction of travel is clear.

Kilmarnock have already moved ahead of schedule, ripping up their plastic pitch and replacing it with a new hybrid surface which, from the early images, looks extremely impressive.

Falkirk, meanwhile, will continue operating on plastic for one more season before making the switch.

It is encouraging to hear CEO Jamie Swinney confirm that, regardless of what division the club finds itself in next term, a return to grass is planned.

It is a progressive move from Falkirk and one that makes sense whatever happens this season. Even if the worst-case scenario was to unfold and the club were relegated, it would still be logical to lay the foundations for a grass pitch given it will soon become compulsory.

There is also the potential benefit of helping attract a better calibre of player, with artificial surfaces often viewed as a drawback by some.

John McGlynn has been vocal about wanting to see the back of the plastic pitch, while our long-running injury issues - many of which have involved ankle problems - have inevitably led to questions over whether the surface has played a part.

There is no definitive evidence to suggest that is the case, but moving towards a grass pitch feels like the right decision for the club's future.

It will come at a significant financial cost, but it is another sign we are taking steps in the right direction.

Watch the best of the action as St Mirren win 2-0 at Falkirk in their Scottish Premiership season opener. (Available to UK users only)