sport

FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT FOR YOGI'S BAIRNS

Hughes - has worked wonders at Falkirk.

Not many managers would be content to start the season with a home defeat having failed to find the net but Falkirk boss John Hughes will be happy with what he witnessed against Rangers the result - a 1-0 defeat - aside.

The Bairns, an apt nickname given 10 of the 14 players on show were 24 or under, have been tipped to make the breakthrough into the SPL's top six this season after consecutive seventh-place finishes and on the evidence of Saturday they have the capability to do so, and possibly even push for Europe.

Hughes' men outthought, outmoved and generally outplayed their more-expensively assembled visitors in almost every department, but badly lacked a killer instinct though that should come when Neil McCann and Steve Lovell are available.

When you consider that, the aforementioned duo apart, Dean Holden, Arnau Reira and Burton O'Brien are likely to have played had they been fit, Falkirk look a team to be feared.

The only downside for Hughes is he could struggle to keep hold of his best youngsters, in particular Darren Barr and Scott Arfield.

Barr, captain at just 23, continued where he left off last season as a rock at the heart of the Falkirk defence as he coped comfortably for most of the game with the not inconsiderable twin threat of Kris Boyd and Andrius Velicka, while midfielder Arfield's reputation grows with every game.

Aged 19, Scotland Under-21 international Arfield was neat, tidy and influential - and he was probably the weakest of the Bairns midfielders.

Although Hughes brought in experienced trio Jackie McNamara, Lee Bullen and McCann in the summer, three 20-year-olds came off the bench and didn't look out a place, suggesting the manager's philosophy of developing young players will continue.

It surely won't be long before Hughes, like many of his young starlets, will be targeted by bigger clubs if he continues to impress, indeed it's a mystery to me why he has been overlooked for the Hibernian job twice in the last two years, John Collins and Mixu Paatelainen appointed instead.

Not that Hughes would necessarily have gone to Easter Road, despite being born and brought up in Leith and a childhood Hibs fan.

Just last year he said: "If I'm here for the next five years I'd be delighted because it is only half-done. It is something I'm talking to George (Craig, managing director) about. He knows I would be prepared to commit myself to this club for the long term. Also I've never been money-motivated. It is about appreciating what you have got and loving the people you work with."

Hughes is the type of manager most fans would like to have at their club - honest, loyal, with the ability to work on a shoestring budget and with a vision.

In the past he has shunned cash to spend on players in favour of pouring it into the youth system - and that policy looks to be paying off.

The club deserve a lot of credit for backing Hughes.

Having been handed the job in January 2003 as co-manager with Owen Coyle, the duo led the Bairns to the First Divison title but were denied promotion due to then-ground Brockville not meeting SPL criteria.

But after Coyle, now Burnley boss, left that summer Hughes could only take Falkirk to fourth place and there was the temptation to make a change.

But they stuck with the former defender and stormed to the title the following season.

After staying up comfortably in 2005-06, two seventh-place finishes were to follow. But even last season Hughes' open, attacking philosophy came under fire as they shipped 23 goals in eight games following an opening-day win at Gretna, a run which left them just three points off the bottom of the table.

The 43-year-old refused to panic though and tinkered with his formation to make his side more solid, at the same time never sacrificing his fluid, passing approach.

A rugged, no-nonsense centre-half in his days with Berwick, Swansea, Falkirk, Celtic, Hibs and Ayr, Hughes seemed an unlikely candidate to produce a free-flowing, attractive side, but that is exactly what he has done, bringing through talented youngsters and hidden gems along the way.

And it surely won't be too long before some of those youngsters push their way into contention for international honours.

And on the subject of Scotland, should Falkirk continue to progress at their current rate, who would bet against Hughes emulating two famous former Bairns stars in Sir Alex Ferguson and George Burley by leading the national team in the future? Certainly not me.