John McGlynn puts Hibs 'catapult' question to Falkirk as Bairns boss savours triumphs over Hearts and Hibees
Hibs were put to the sword against Falkirk on Saturday.
Falkirk boss John McGlynn says he has leap-frogging Hibs in his sight after back-to-back successes over teams from Edinburgh.
After knocking Hearts out the Scottish Cup on penalties last weekend, the Bairns continued their outstanding return to the Premiership with a 4-1 win over David Gray’s Hibees. Falkirk outplayed Hibs and were two goals up thanks to a Barney Stewart double.
Rocky Bushiri got one back for Hibs but Stewart completed his hat-trick and a Grant Hanley own goal put the tin lid on a dire day for the Easter Road side, who exited the Scottish Cup last weekend against Championship side Dunfermline Athletic. While still fifth, Motherwell’s win over Kilmarnock means the gap to fourth is now five points, and sixth-placed Falkirk are just a couple of points behind. McGlynn says going above Hibs is an aim they have in mind.
John McGlynn on Falkirk 4-1 Hibs
Asked if it was the best performance of his tenure, McGlynn responded: “Against the calibre of team we're playing against, absolutely, we've had a lot of good performances. We go to Tynecastle last week and put up a great performance and, it was on penalties, but to go back-to-back wins against the two teams in Edinburgh who have been doing great, yeah, absolutely.
“Over the moon, you couldn't be otherwise. The boys, for the level that they're playing at, the performances that they're putting on, they were top drawer. There's nothing better than any of this. When you put something in place and we do that week in, week out, we're doing it better now than we've been doing it all season.
“And goals, which is what we're all about, trying to score goals. So we're never going to sit back on a 2-0. We're always trying to go and get a third and a fourth and I think we could have got a third even before Hibs got a goal back. You know, we had opportunities. So, yeah, it's so rewarding and so satisfying.”
What’s next for Hibs?
“At three o'clock, that was the dangle of the carrot. Can we cut that (gap) to two points where one win could maybe catapult us above Hibs? We also know that just below us are Aberdeen who got a good win and that gap is still five there. Dundee United game were off, so it's a wee chance to try and widen that gap, which is what we're wanting to do.
“The first 11 games we got 15 and now we're playing another sequence of games. The last time we played Hibs here we drew 1-1. We've now got three points from a tie that we got one point earlier. So our target was 15 points and we've got a good start from the first game, matchday 23, getting three points on the board. So yeah, the league table is looking very nice.”
Matches don’t come much easier for Hibs, as a tough run of games continues. They face title chasers Rangers next weekend before hosting Dundee United prior to the latest Edinburgh derby with Hearts at the start of February.