PLEASEDON’T HOLT BAIRNS BACK BEAKS
GARY HOLT wants to help Falkirk return to the Premiership as quickly as he can – and has pleaded with football chiefs not to prolong their pain.
Former Bairns and Livingston boss Holt took over as the club’s new sporting director last week.
His appointment came days before shareholders gave the green light to a six-figure investment from Orlando City founder Phil Rawlins and his wife Carrie, who will also take on a 26 per cent stake.
Falkirk fans are looking to the long-term future with confidence but are also fearing their League One title bid could be derailed after the SFA last week suspended all football below the Championship until the end of the month at the very least.
Falkirk, who are jointly managed by Lee Miller and David McCracken, are on course to move a step closer to top-flight football after opening up a twopoint lead at the summit.
Bairns chairman Gary Deans has already let rip at the governing bodies and Holt admits he is desperate for the league to be played to a finish.
He said: “I want to play football. We can facilitate it and the league can put things in place to do that.
“We’ll need to see, it’s not down to us. I want us to be able to have more of a say and I think there should be more of a say.
“How it has been done hasn’t been helpful.
“We should all be trying to get the leagues finished, however long that takes.
“Protocols are in place we can adhere to. We’re 11 games in, 16 to go.
“I don’t see any problem getting the league finished whenever we can. First and foremost, I want to help the two lads get the club out of the league.”
Falkirk are frustrated they will be out of action until the February 6 visit of Dumbarton at the earliest.
But in the long term, Holt believes the club are about to embark on a memorable journey in their bid to end an agonising 11-year absence from the top tier of Scottish football.
He said: “That’s my main aim, to get us back to the top level quickly.
“My focus is to change the mindset around the area. Not the fans because they buy into the club.
“But we need to buy into it, put practices in place that we are a bigger club and can achieve that.
“That’s often on the pitch. If you go in thinking we’re a League One club, we’ll stay a League One club.
“I don’t want that. Let’s put plans in place we can achieve. Not pie in the sky, targets we need to hit.”
And Holt admits investment from the Rawlins family will be a huge shot in the arm given the pandemic.
He said: “It’s going to be massive. The more help we get, the better.
“For me as someone who’s just met them, it’s their enthusiasm for what they want to do.
“The energy, excitement and hunger they have to make this club as big as we can was there to see.”