Falkirk travel to Arbroath this weekend on Scottish Cup duty and Bairns co-boss David McCracken admits it is a good time for his side to get away from the league after failing to win any of their last three League One fixtures.
Defeats by Airdrie and East Fife sandwiched a 0-0 draw with title rivals Partick Thistle and McCracken thinks this is when he and co-manager Lee Miller will “learn the most” as they go into their second year in management.

The Bairns have won one of their last four games. (Photo by Mark Scates/SNS Group via Getty Images)
The two sides met in the same competition last year, Falkirk going through after a replay, and despite their recent poor form, facing a team in the league above them who are in even worse form, could give the Bairns a big confidence boost if they win.
Falkirk’s second-round clash isn’t expected to fall victim to the January weather and McCracken is confident that his side’s recent disappointing run of form will make him better as a coach and manager in the long-term.
“We spoke to Arbroath on Wednesday and they’re not expecting any problems having put covers down on the pitch,” McCracken confirmed.
“We’ve had a good week’s training we have the chance to put our recent results and performances behind us.
“Arbroath haven’t changed too many of their personnel since we played them last season so we have a good idea what to expect and we will prepare properly.
“With our recent results it could be good to get away from the league but it’s another game and we want to do well and progress in the cup.
“For myself and Lee these are the times where you learn the most, the difficult times.
“If you continuously win then you sometimes don’t see things that are happening and aren’t being challenged.

Gayfield will be a tough challenge for the Bairns this weekend (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
“It’s not that we want to be in this position but we have to deal with it and it will make us better coaches and managers in the long run.”
NTOF now offers a YouTube channel featuring exclusive interviews, post-match discussion, in-depth debate, and much more – LIKE and SUBSCRIBE and don’t miss any of our videos.