LIFE will seem much brighter from Stewart Murdoch's point of view today than last Monday.
A week ago, the midfielder and his team-mates were anxiously waiting for news on whether Steven Pressley would still be their manager by the time their Scottish Cup tie came round.
Speculation was rife among his Falkirk fledgings that their guiding hand was about to be named as Peter Houston's successor at Dundee United and the mood was bleak.
There was much relief when the job went instead to Jackie McNamara, and further cause for celebration on Saturday when Pressley's team booked a place in the quarter-finals.
"I think on the Monday it looked like he had a really good chance of going," admitted Murdoch, who claimed his side's 68th-minute second goal in a 4-1 rout of Forfar.
"There are a lot of players here who have come through the youth teams and are now getting a chance and that is down to him. It's brilliant to see the gaffer stay because I believe we are really starting to build something."
The second division visitors made a fist of the tie, with Iain Campbell levelling from the spot midway through the first half after Lyle Taylor had given Falkirk the lead. "We knew what Falkirk were all about. We had them watched a few times," said Forfar's manager, Dick Campbell.
But ultimately Taylor was their undoing and he put gloss on the result by scoring their fourth goal – and his 22nd of the season – seven minutes from time, after David Weatherston had made it 3-1 to the hosts after 75 minutes.
The Englishman's conviction and movement in front of goal was crucial, with Falkirk's passing game – which they persisted with despite a heavy pitch – revolving around the 22-year-old.
"The pitch didn't really help us as we were trying to get the ball down and pass it round Forfar," added Murdoch, who provided the through ball for Weatherston's goal. "But there's now a chance of us doing something [in the Scottish Cup]."
It would appear everything is rosy in the Falkirk garden once more.
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