Falkirk Boss Draws Inspiration from Brendan Rodgers for Historic Season

Falkirk boss John McGlynn has credited his successful season to the profound impact and lessons learned from Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers during his stint with the Scottish giants.

McGlynn, named PFA Scotland Manager of the Year on Sunday night, led Falkirk through an undefeated season in League One, culminating in a dramatic final day that secured their “Invincible” status and promotion to the Scottish Championship.

They had to come back from 2-0 down to Alloa on Saturday to ensure they didn’t pick up a defeat this season.

Reflecting on his experiences at Celtic, where he worked on the recruitment team before being appointed opposition analyst by Rodgers, McGlynn highlighted the significant iNFLuence those years had on his coaching philosophy.

McGlynn told RecordSport: “I was working at Celtic when Brendan came in. I was working mainly with John Park and the recruitment side of things. When Brendan came in, he made me the opposition analyst. I think there was a little bit of a connection. I was manager of Hearts when they played Liverpool so Brendan then got me looking at the opposition and doing reports on them and working in the background.

“I learned a lot just being involved in the meetings and going over how they play and how they wanted to play and what he looked for in the opposition and how they could exploit them. He went into some great detail and it was a great learning curve for me. You learn from every manager. I have been in the Game a long time. In recent times I probably learned the most from Brendan Rodgers and his staff as well.

“I was going away watching European Games involving PSG, Barcelona, Manchester City Borussia Monchengladbach and Anderlecht – all the teams Celtic have had in their group in recent years. To be involved in that, if you don’t learn there is something wrong with you.”

Former Celtic kid Calvin Miller is part of the Falkirk squad this season. Brendan Rodgers gave the player his league debut, revealing that the forward was being retrained to a left-back, but he’s back on the wings in League 1, contributing to none goals and fifteen assist this season.