Rangers assistant manager Kenny Black reckons that reaching the Scottish Cup Final will make Falkirk even more determined to make the play-offs.
The sides meet at Ibrox on Saturday and the Bairns need to win to have any chance of catching fourth-placed Queen of the South, who are at home to Dumbarton.
Black said: “With the cup final taking place on May 30, some four weeks after the final Championship games, Peter will be determined that Falkirk remain competitive right throughout that time.
“The best way for them to do that is to take part in the play-offs so we will be facing a very determined side on Saturday. They will be able to freshen things up as Mark Kerr and John Baird are available again and Rory Loy could also be back from a knock so it will be a tough game.
“They will see this game as a chance to close the gap to two points if Queen of the South were to lose to Dumbarton. They would be right in things if that happened. I know Peter from working with him at Leicester and Scotland and I know he will be getting his players into a positive frame of mind.
“We will need the level of performance that we put in when we saw off Hearts and Hibs to get the win we need to keep hold of second place.”
Black has also taken Houston’s claims that his players were ‘done in’ after defeating Hibs to reach the final against Inverness Caley Thistle with a pinch of salt.
He added: “I got in touch with him to congratulate Falkirk on reaching the final. He was telling me that the game had taken a lot out of them and they were tired but I am not getting fooled by that.
“They are a decent side who have drawn with Rangers already and have now beaten Hibs three times so this will be a really tough game.”
Black is hoping that last Saturday’s 3-1 win over Dumbarton is the start of a final push that will see Rangers, who go to Tynecastle next weekend, finish as runners-up.
Black said: “We had a hiccup against Queen of the South earlier this month and there were lapses against Livingston and the players know that.
“They have buckled down and worked hard since Stuart McCall and I came in and we still have a good chance of success at the end of a difficult season for the club. We will have a better chance if we take care of Falkirk.”
Craig Stewart
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