FALKIRK manager John Hughes fears his side could suffer the fall-out from Motherwell's disappointing exit from the Uefa Cup.
Hughes takes his side to Fir Park tomorrow looking to build on the morale-boosting 4-1 win over SPL newcomers Hamilton last weekend that lifted them off the foot of the table.
However, after watching Motherwell fail in their bid to reach the Uefa
Cup group stages against Nancy on Thursday night, Hughes has warned his players to be on their guard against the Lanarkshire side.
He said: "I was so desperate for them to get through to the group stages of the Uefa Cup and for them to have done that would have been a remarkable achievement.
"But what they have done so far has been remarkable. The job Mark McGhee and Scott Leitch are doing over there is fantastic.
"They have some nice football players, playing the game in the right manner, and rightly so they finished third last year and deserved their European spot.
"It would have been a great experience for them, although they will have been disappointed that the French team didn't have to work for their goals. The game sort of fizzled out after the goals and I felt for them, even though they kept going.
"We might get the backlash of that because they will want to get themselves back on the road."
Indeed, Motherwell striker John Sutton said as much yesterday, insisting that McGhee's men are determined to return to European competition as quickly as possible.
"It's certainly disappointing to get knocked out at the first go. The gaffer said we want to get back next year and do a bit better. That's what we have to do now, get back to the league and pick our standards up and try to get another shot at it.
The full article contains 313 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
