Falkirk aim to gun down favourites Inverness
Falkirk manager Peter Houston hopes his side can use their underdog status to cause a shock against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in Saturday's Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park. The Bairns finished the season in a disappointing fifth spot in the second-tier Championship while their rivals clinched third place in the top flight to secure European football for the first time. However Houston is confident his side has the quality to pull off a surprise as they look to get their hands on the trophy for the first time since 1957. "Inverness have had a fantastic season," the Falkirk boss said. "They've not finished third in the Premiership for nothing. It's because they have good players and good organisation and a great manager. "I'm providing my players with information; strengths and hopefully some weaknesses we can exploit. "We're underdogs, that goes without saying. But, once you are in a final, you want to go and win it. We're not just happy to be there. "In a one-off situation, we've seen many times, the underdogs can come out on top. "We have to cope with whatever Inverness throw at us but also get the ball down and play because we like to pass it and I'm convinced we'll create chances." Falkirk's last competitive game was back on May 2 but Houston, who led Dundee United to success in the Scottish Cup in 2010, said his side would be up for the final. "A bit of freshness might do us good. The fitness levels are very good, but you do miss competitive games," the Falkirk manager said. "Last week, we had games against young Burnley and Swansea sides. That was the best we could get at this particular time. "But if you can't get the players up for a Cup final then there's no chance of ever getting them up. "They're excited and nerves will come into it. The Inverness players will be the exact same way and it's who handles the occasion best." - Hungry for success - Falkirk face an Inverness side who are looking to clinch their first major silverware since the club was formed just over 20 years ago. Their average attendance this season has been just 3,900 but manager John Hughes is confident the Highland club will take a large support down to the national stadium in Glasgow for their first appearance in the Scottish Cup final. "I'm quite sure we'll take 15,000-20,000 down to the cup final and hopefully we'll give them a good day," Hughes said. "If we go and play in the final and really turn up and play at our best then I'm confident we can bring the Scottish Cup back to Inverness. "We all want to win, we all want success, we all want medals and trophies. But, if I'm honest, it's the way we've done it, the way we pass the ball and entertain, that's been the most pleasing thing for me. "When you come to a club with the finances and resources that we work with, the remit was basically to stay in the top flight and always try to push for the top six and latter stages of the cup competitions." Scottish Cup final (Saturday 1400 GMT) Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Falkirk
