Source: FOOTYMAD
Pressure Cooker
The pressure is on the two sides who meet at the Falkirk Stadium today but different kinds. Which one will cope best? Only time will tell. Falkirk striker Enoch Showunmi knows all about pressure as his club sit at the bottom of the SPL and fighting hard to avoid relegation. Showunmi has experience from the time he played for Leeds for 18 months as they fought to bounce back from the third tier of English football. That time showed him he has the mentality for a fight to help Falkirk get off the bottom of the SPL. He said: "With the set-up and history of Leeds - in 2001 they were in the Champions League semi-final - the fans demanded that promotion was the be-all and end-all. I went to the club on the back of playing for two other teams that were promoted out of that league and I felt confident in my ability to get Leeds out the division. Unfortunately, it didn't go to plan. I started a few games - not as many as I would have liked - then I had an illness that kept me out for six months. That season, they get knocked out in the play-offs but I couldn't help them anyway. Playing for a team like Leeds, everyone comes out in League One and tries to beat you, obviously with the prestige of playing at Elland Road where you have 30,000 fans. Teams can raise their games. Here, it's a little bit different where you are battling for points. But you need the same mentality, you need to win games to either avoid relegation or win promotion. We need to have belief in our ability and go out there and play our game, and pick up points most importantly of all." Falkirk manager Steven Pressley has lost striker Mark Stewart ahead of the game with Celtic due to him picking up a strain. Stewart joins Carl Finnigan (hamstring) and Danijel Marceta (ankle) on the sidelines while defender Pedro Pele (Achilles) remains a long-term absentee. Celtic manager Tony Mowbray is starting to sound like a man under pressure but a different type. He is still irritated by the loss of Scott Brown who is suspended for the trip to the Falkirk Stadium. Celtic lost his appeal against the red card picked up by their captain in last week's Old Firm defeat at Ibrox. Brown will have to serve a three-game ban. The Parkhead club continue their spat with referees and the controversy surrounding who complained about the state of the Falkirk pitch although Mowbray has rejected outright reports that Celtic were the complainants. Mowbray is looking for his side to avoid a repetition of what he considers to be their poorest performance of the season when they re-visit the Falkirk Stadium today. Celtic drew 3-3 draw against the Bairns in November thanks to some shambolic defending. The Celtic boss is focusing on beating the Bairns with whom they also drew at home in January. Mowbray said: "In the 3-3 game we played as poorly as we have played. I stated that after the game and yet I gave them credit, the did very well on the day. Falkirk are a good football team, they like to expand the pitch and try to play football. They scored some goals that day, passed the ball around very well and were brave in the way they played."Defender Glenn Loovens is in contention after recovering from a hamstring injury but Thomas Rogne is out with a similar problem while Diomansy Kamara is sidelined with a knock. Editor Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba net)Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba net)This is Scottish-Fitba Net
