Aaron Muirhead: Falkirk’s focus is all on getting back to the Prem

Falkirk’s squad has had a major overhaul this summer. Bairns boss Paul Hartley has brought in 16 players this summer, whilst a number of first-teamers have also left.

And captain Aaron Muirhead believes the much-changed squad need to gel quickly.

Speaking to us, he said: “There are only a couple of us left from last season. The first day of the season was like walking into a new team.”

“I think a lot of the lads in our dressing room haven’t played a lot of men’s football because they are used to under-23 stuff.

“Hopefully they can get up to speed quickly because a club like Falkirk needs to be up there challenging.

Inconsistency was the issue in their League Cup campaign. The Bairns just missed out on a spot in the second round. Wins over Forfar Athletic and East Fife came amidst a couple of cup losses.

Muirhead told us: “Our early games have been hit and miss. Even the first half last Saturday against East Fife was poor but we improved in the second half.”

And the 27-year-old thinks they could kick off the Ladbrokes Championship campaign with a win, following a bad week for their opponents Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

He said: “Inverness had been going well in the second half of last season and had started this season well.

“Then they went to Tynecastle last Sunday and only needed to lose 3-0 and they were still qualified in the League Cup [but lost 5-0], so it’s a bit of a sickener for them.”

The former Partick Thistle defender thinks there’s no reason the Bairns can’t be challenging at the top end this term.

He explained: “The focus is all on getting back to the Premiership but I wouldn’t say there is more pressure this season because it has always been there since I have been at the club.”

“A club like Falkirk should be in the top flight but there are a lot of big clubs in the Championship who all think they should be there.”

Falkirk are in the middle of the betting for the title, at 10/1 to win the Championship.

Meanwhile, the odds make it 8/5 for Falkirk to beat Inverness on Saturday.

Click here for the latest Ladbrokes Championship odds.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing