KERR SICK OF THE ANNUAL HEARTACHE

ONE wonders just how many heart-breaking endings Falkirk can take.

Defeat to Dundee United on Friday night marked their second play-off defeat in a row, with United’s two late goals bringing a brutally swift end to a long campaign that yielded another impressive second-placed Championship finish under Peter Houston.

Last year it was Kilmarnock who put paid to the Bairns’ hopes of promotion, and a year earlier they endured another form of misery when they were beaten by ten-man Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup final.

Houston will gather his players for a post-season debrief tomorrow and midfielder Mark Kerr (inset) admits the mood is likely to be sombre. Kerr could take losing to Killie over two legs but admits he is struggling to come to terms with United’s comeback.

‘We should have gone through, it was in our hands,’ said Kerr after a match in which James Craigen’s fine finish had given Falkirk a halftime lead. ‘This hurts more. Last year we won the first leg of the final and thought: “We’re one game away”.

‘This just feels like the season has petered out without us even having a proper crack at getting up. It was like another league game.’

Kerr, 35, has agreed to stay at Falkirk for another season and Houston has vowed to bring in reinforcements. With Hibs promoted as champions and United in with a shout of joining them, Falkirk’s chances should, in theory, improve next term.

‘We can’t dwell on this,’ he insisted. ‘The league next year will be dangerous, as people will say there are no big teams.

‘That brings its own pressure as we’ll be seen as the big team. But I’m sure we’ll come back strongly — we just seem to be missing the final piece.’