Luke Leahy used to take inspiration from Darren Dods when he was a team-mate - now he hopes a win against Dods' Brechin City can motivate Falkirk for the league season ahead.
The Bairns finished second in the Championship last term but agonisingly missed out on promotion when they were defeated by Kilmarnock in the play-off final.
It leaves Peter Houston's men desperate to piece together another promotion challenge in the coming months, starting with a bang against Hibs next weekend.
And Leahy is hopeful a victory in their final Betfred Cup group match against Brechin this afternoon will provide the perfect warm-up - something he got used to seeing when Dods was a colleague in the throes of prolonging his career to the age of 40.
Leahy said: "Darren Dods, what a bloke he is, he's brilliant. Everything about him was brilliant, in training and in games and off the pitch.
"His hour-long warm-ups before training were something else, but that's why he played until the age he was.
"He looked after himself, he was in good condition and he's a great man.
"Off the pitch he was quiet but on the pitch he would just shout for no reason and you'd be thinking 'what's he shouting at?'. But that got you going and he was brilliant.
"I'd be just coming in for training and he'd already be out stretching, and then he'd be the last in as well. That's why he played on until he did. He was a great professional and it will be good to see him again.
"We know he'll set his side up to be difficult to play against, but if we get a good result it will take us into the Hibs game with a lot of confidence.
"There's always been that edge when Falkirk have played Hibs over the last 18 months and it will be no different this time. You just want to get a good start to the season and get those points on the board early."
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