Newly-appointed Falkirk boss Martin Rennie thinks the timing was “perfect” for him to take over as manager of his boyhood heroes ahead of his first game in charge this afternoon against East Fife.

The Scot has spent most of his coaching career in the United States and Canada with the likes of Vancouver Whitecaps, Indy XI and Carolina Railhawks but admits the job he’s taken on couldn’t be  any harder with the Bairns making heavy work of their third attempt to win promotion out of League One.

Rennie’s predecessor Paul Sheerin barely lasted half a season in charge before the Bairns inconsistencies saw him fall victim to the expectations from the Falkirk Stadium fans as they languished in mid-table miles off the pace.

After taking training for the first time on Wednesday, Rennie hasn’t had much time to work with his new players but is confident the players he has at his disposal are more than capable of achieving their targets.

“The timing was perfect and it has allowed me to travel here and take stock of the situation at the club and how I can help rapidly get the team back on track,” Rennie said.

“Having the six months for now allowed me to come here alone without my immediate family who are still in the US at the moment and it is something that can be looked at later, for now the full focus is about picking up results.

“I’m coming into a side that have lost nine goals in the last two matches so the job doesn’t get any harder. We have a good squad of players and on the training pitch I have already seen that. The guys we have here are good enough and can improve further – they just need belief and confidence and it is my job to instil that.

“There are still a lot of players around here who can make an impact, confidence is the key to getting the best out of the players we have. I am looking forward to the match and seeing the Falkirk fans in person at a match.

“We need to change the mindset quickly and back the players’ abilities because I know this squad can do much more than they are doing at the moment, even looking back to the start of the season the level of performance was really strong and we need to get back to that level of confidence.”

Rennie already has transfer targets in mind

With the transfer window set to open in a few weeks, Rennie admits that between him and assistant Kenny Miller, they have built up connections “all around the world” as they target new signings next month.

While the Bairns might be in the third-tier of Scottish football, Rennie is impressed by the infrastructure at the Falkirk Stadium, calling it a “bonus” to have facilities that are better than some of the clubs in higher divisions.

“I’ve made a lot of connections over the years so there might be opportunities for loan players in England and things like that. For 15 years I’ve been coaching and recruiting and that forces you to get to know people,” he said.

“We have people in mind of course and myself and Kenny (Miller) have connections all around the world. The infrastructure is really strong here and we have things that other clubs don’t have even above us, which is a bonus for me.”

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