We’ve got next three games to prove we deserve Falkirk job
FOR Lee Miller, his fairytale homecoming to Falkirk gave way to the nightmare before Christmas.
Summoned to a meeting by manager Paul Hartley on December 24, 2017, the Bairns striker was abruptly told his services were no longer required at the club where he had begun his career 17 years earlier. A subsequent move to Livingston saw Miller become a hero as the Lions reached the Premiership via a play-off final against Partick Thistle.
Falkirk, by contrast, sank like a stone under Hartley and then his successor Ray McKinnon.
Last Saturday night, the struggling McKinnon was finally sacked, with his team languishing a miserable fourth in League One following their relegation to the third tier for the first time since 1980.
Now, after being asked this week to manage the team on an interim basis alongside his ex-Falkirk captain David McCracken, a gleeful Miller has the chance to pen a happier ending at his beloved Bairns after that bitter previous chapter at Westfield.
‘The way it finished for me at Falkirk the last time left a sour taste,’ said Miller, whose first match in co-charge with McCracken will be a Scottish Cup tie tomorrow night at Linlithgow Rose.
‘I was told I had no future at the club on Christmas Eve. It’s nearly two years since that happened.
‘I went to Livingston and ended up getting promoted to the Premiership. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome after the down of the way it finished for me at Falkirk.
‘But this gives me the chance to write a happier ending. I maybe didn’t say it or show it at the time but, deep down, I always thought I would be back here.
‘The fans all know how much this club means to me. I’ve never hidden that. I started my career here as a young boy. And, even when I came back here with Livingston in the Betfred Cup and scored a penalty, the fans were still incredible to me.
‘That meant so much. I’ve always had a great relationship with the Falkirk supporters.
‘It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind, really. I met up with Cracks (McCracken) for a coffee last week and we ended up talking about how things weren’t going well at Falkirk.
‘We both said if the Falkirk job came up we would fancy it. It’s mad and bizarre it’s actually happened. It was like a premonition. I can’t stop smiling. My phone has been lighting up like a Christmas tree with messages of support...’
It’s still a gamble for Miller, however, after he tore up his playing contract with Livingston to take up what is, for now, an interim post with Falkirk.
Likewise for McCracken, who has given up his role as first-team coach at Peterhead.
Falkirk have promised an ‘extensive recruitment process’ for a new boss, with John Hughes interested in a return to the club but unlikely to get his wish.
Edinburgh City’s James McDonaugh, who assisted Peter Houston during his successful spell at the Bairns, is understood to be in the frame.
But Miller believes he and McCracken are the men for the job and has backed the pair to prove it during their ‘audition’.
‘There are no qualms about it — we want this job,’ said the former Dundee United, Aberdeen and Scotland striker.
‘We feel we are the best people to take this club back to where it needs to be.
‘We’ve got at least the next two or three games to steady the ship and we’re looking to put our stamp on the team and give us every opportunity to get the job permanently.
‘But we are realistic. We know
Falkirk has to go through a process. We can only do the best we can at this moment in time.
‘In the short term, we want to get the club winning again on a Saturday.
‘But, in the longer term, we need to get Falkirk back to the Premiership.’
Miller believes Livingston provide a shining inspiration to Falkirk in their current plight.
‘Livvy went up from League One to the top flight and they are surviving there,’ said Miller, who has not decided whether he will keep playing in January or focus solely on coaching after 18 injuryplagued months in West Lothian.
‘And, from having a good relationship with the guys behind the scenes at the club during their rise, I understand how they did it. It’s about having a group of players who are honest professionals and work hard.
‘I’ve been gutted to see what’s happened at Falkirk in the past couple of years. I can’t believe what has gone on.
‘I don’t know Ray McKinnon personally, but I do know he has assembled a quality squad. Yet, they haven’t performed the way we know they can.
‘The players just need their mojo back. But, if training is like it was in our first session back this week, we will have a right good chance this season.
‘We want to bring spark and energy back to Falkirk. We want the Falkirk Stadium back to being a fortress again the way it was in the past.
‘We want to get back to “the Falkirk way” in terms of going right to the final whistle, getting results, grinding teams down, having quality.
‘We need to have a few different sides to our game. It doesn’t matter if it’s pretty or ugly, we need Falkirk to win games.’