Source: Team_Talk
Burton: Too early for drop talk
Falkirk travel to Lanarkshire bottom of the table after picking up one point from four games - two less than nearest rivals Hamilton.
Both sides were tipped to struggle after a major overhaul of their squads in the summer but O'Brien does not believe the contest will have any real significance in shaping the season ahead.
"Maybe the press and fans might see it like that, but it will maybe be a quarter of the way through the season before we see the true picture of the league," the 28-year-old said.
"So far we can take a lot of positives out of the performances. We have maybe not got the points we deserved.
"But we are off an running now and hopefully we can continue that."
O'Brien's view is backed up by both club's most recent games - Hamilton deservedly beat Hibernian in a vibrant display and Falkirk found Aberdeen goalkeeper Jamie Langfield on top form during a goalless draw on Monday.
Falkirk's trip to New Douglas Park offers the first opportunity to play opponents from outside last season's top six and O'Brien has been encouraged by their start despite their position.
"It was good to get our first point but coming off the game we actually felt we should have won, and looking at the highlights again, we definitely think we should have got the win," the former Livingston midfielder said.
"I think our attacking play did click, we just couldn't get that final piece of magic.
"On saying that, Jamie Langfield got man of the match so that shows how much pressure we put them under.
"He made a couple of great saves and on another day two of those chances would have gone in.
"Even the games prior to that when we got beat, we dominated for long periods. So although we got three defeats, we took a lot of positives."
Falkirk manager Eddie May unleashed an attacking midfield against the Dons with O'Brien the most defensive-minded of a quartet that saw Scott Arfield push forward to help wingers Ryan Flynn and Danijel Marceta.
But O'Brien does not feel added personal responsibility to help out the defence.
"The manager has stressed that we don't just defend as a back four and me sitting in front, we defend from the front," he said.
"We attack as a team and defend as a team and the boys have taken that on board really well.
"I think we have adapted really well. We are a very young team, so we are learning as we go all the time."
O'Brien added: "Over the coming weeks there are a lot of winnable games for us out there and we hope to win as many as we can."
Hamilton 6/5, Falkirk 11/5, Draw 12/5
