The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
McCracken insists experience will be key
David McCracken believes Falkirk’s play-off experience will be a “massive” help when they take on Dundee United.
The Bairns kick off their third Ladbrokes Premiership play-off campaign in four years at Tannadice tonight.
They lost to Hamilton in the semi-finals after an epic win over Queen of the South in 2014, and then fell at the final hurdle last year against Kilmarnock after beating Hibernian over two legs.
They have again confounded the odds to finish above United and McCracken feels their knowledge of the format could give them an edge.
“I think it’s massive,” said the 35-year-old captain, who was promoting BT Sport’s live coverage of the games. “It was pretty hard the way it finished last year but it’s going to stand us in good stead knowing that it doesn’t matter really what happens in the first game, there is a lot that can happen in the second game.
“They are going to come into it buoyed but the fact of the matter is that they have had two extra games than us. We have had a little bit of a break and time to prepare looking into these games.”
Falkirk have twice beaten United at home this season, scoring six times, while the games at Tannadice have been much closer, United winning 1-0 before a 1-1 draw.
So McCracken knows that there is no need to win the contest in the first leg.
He said: “The first game is possibly about managing it and seeing where we are at the end of the 90 minutes, and going again on Friday.
“We know what it’s about and the management team will put certain things in place to help us with the recovery.”