Bairns boss ready for tight finish

02 March 2009 17:14
The Bairns stretched their advantage over bottom side Inverness to two points thanks to Saturday's 0-0 draw with Hibs at Easter Road. However, such is the slender lead and the pressure building at the foot of the table, Hughes is in no doubt that the battle between the teams will be a lengthy one. And he is hoping they can both haul back the sides above them as the campaign threatens to draw to a tense climax. Speaking as he prepared his side for another big match at home to Dundee United, Hughes said: "I'm totally focused on what we're doing and really relaxed on it. "From now to the end of the season I can't see us pulling 10 points away from Inverness and I can't see them doing that either. "I think we're both looking to pull a few teams above us back into the mix, so it's going to be nip and tuck between us from now until the end of the season." Hughes spent last week trying to remove the apprehension from his team's play following a nervy 2-1 defeat to Hamilton the weekend before. The Bairns boss believes the players took his message on board against Hibs and he is adamant they deserved all three points from Saturday's match with the club he served as a player. He is now hopeful they can continue to play with a freedom which belies their current predicament in second-bottom spot in the SPL table. He added: "I felt the boys showed plenty of spirit and desire on Saturday, matched with good ball retention, and that was very pleasing. "The only thing I was disappointed with was not taking the full three points. It's been like that this season, we've had too many draws this year and it would be nice to turn a few of them into victories. "We need to try and be as relaxed as we can, and that was evident on Saturday. I saw a lot of smiling faces and a lot of good performances, so all credit to the players. "I asked them last week if there was character and leadership qualities in the dressing room, and they came up with the answers."

Source: Team_Talk