Source: Team_Talk
Hughes braced for final countdown
The Bairns face Rangers at the penultimate stage of the Co-operative Insurance Cup on Tuesday night seeking to reach their first final in 12 years.[LNB]However, first, Hughes takes his team to face Motherwell at Fir Park on Saturday with a fight on their hands to retain their SPL status this term.[LNB]They find themselves in second-bottom spot, five points adrift of Hamilton above them and only a solitary point above bottom side Inverness, following a run of only one win in their last 12 league games.[LNB]And, as they seek revenge for a 3-2 defeat in Lanarkshire back in October, Hughes admits the prospect of a return to the Irn-Bru First Division is overshadowing the excitement of next week's cup tie with Rangers.[LNB]He said: "The SPL is the most important competition for us and every game we play between now and the end of the season is like a cup final.[LNB]"We have to make sure we start to keep clean sheets because, the last time we went to Motherwell, we scored two goals and ended up losing the game. We know we have to show more resilience.[LNB]"We've not been too bad this season; there's been one or two games where we've been disappointed but not too many.[LNB]"If I'm totally honest, we've not always taken what we've deserved out of games. It's going to be a very difficult match but we'll give it our best shot."[LNB]Hughes sent out his side in last weekend's controversial 3-1 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox with the buffer of a five-man defence and only one striker in scorer Steve Lovell.[LNB]The tactics hinted at a change of tack for the Falkirk manager, who has stuck resolutely to an attacking formation packed with players urged to pass their way to success.[LNB]Given his side's current precarious position, he has confessed he may have to alter his approach, but has vowed to stick to his principals.[LNB]He added: "It depends what you've got at your disposal. We changed it a wee bit at Ibrox last weekend but we were still wanting to pass the ball and get at them.[LNB]"That's what we'll always do at Falkirk Football Club; that's my beliefs and I'll not go back on them. Why should I change now?"[LNB][LNB]
