Source: Team_Talk
Hughes hopes for reality check
The Bairns knew a victory over St Mirren last weekend would have seen them avoid the drop with a week to spare.
However, Hughes' outfit failed to take the opportunity as they turned in a strangely-flat display in a 2-0 defeat that saw them return to the foot of the table and set up a nerve-shredding showdown.
Only three points will be enough for survival ahead of next weekend's Homecoming Scottish Cup final with Rangers, and Hughes has warned of the consequences of another below-par performance
against Caley Thistle.
He said: "We've got another opportunity to go up there and keep ourselves in the SPL.
"We let ourselves down on Saturday and let the fans down.
"We knew we had to win a football match to stay in the SPL but we never got near it and didn't deserve victory. St Mirren were a far better side and thoroughly deserved their win.
"I just felt we looked leggy and never got started, which is a little bit of a concern for me because I hope the reality has hit home in that dressing room.
"I would rather have beaten St Mirren and someone else could have taken the Scottish Cup final place - that's what it means
to me.
"It's all about staying in the SPL and when you get that opportunity and don't play the way you can, there are real frustrations there.
"There again, we've been given a second opportunity and that's all credit to the players.
"Two months ago, we were down and out and we've been given a second opportunity.
Falkirk have enjoyed a draw in Inverness in the league this season and will also take confidence from registering a victory in the Highlands in the Scottish Cup, a one-off occasion similar to the winner-takes-all nature of Saturday's encounter.
However, with manager Terry Butcher and assistant Maurice Malpas' arrival at Caley Thistle in January sparking a revival that has consigned the Bairns to the dreaded bottom spot going into the final day of a difficult campaign, Hughes is aware of the task in hand.
He added: "It's not going to be easy; Terry and Maurice have done a great job up there and it is always a very hard place to go to.
"You can see that over the years with the way the Old Firm have struggled up there. But we'll go up there and give it a go.
"This is our cup final and we're going to have to perform a lot better than we did on Saturday.
"The players are going to have to go away and use all the mental tools at their disposal to overcome the anxiety or the tension and just go out there and be free spirits and express themselves.
"If they can do that, that's when we're at our best."
