John McGlynn on his Celtic learning curve behind Falkirk surge to the Premiership and unseen Brendan Rodgers role

Daily Record

06-05-2025

The veteran boss has led the Bairns had to the top flight after winning the Championship - and the PFA Manager of the Year gong
In his own words, John McGlynn calls it, 'Doing an Ipswich!'.
Taking a team from the third tier of the domestic league, picking it up by the bootstraps and delivering it straight into the top flight with back-to-back promotions.
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That was his aim at the outset of this season. To emulate the miraculous managerial feat carried out by Kieran McKenna at Portman Road.
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But, before McGlynn could do an Ipswich with Falkirk, first he had to do a Brendan Rodgers.
His coaching credentials were already impressive enough. After all, this is a man who was first crowned Scotland's manager of the year by his own peers back in 2011 when he was in charge at Raith Rovers for the first time.
But two years spent subsequently inside Rodgers' boot room at Celtic 's Lennoxtown hub turbocharged McGlynn's tactical acumen for his return to management back in Kirkcaldy - and which would ultimately catapult him towards Falkirk. The club where fate was waiting to embrace him.
As a result, the 63-year-old has clocked up successive manager of the year awards to go with two promotions on the bounce - and stands as the only man in history to have been honoured with that title for a third time.
And that's despite Rodgers knocking out two Premiership titles on the trot after his own second coming at Celtic - while closing in on a second season treble.
The irony is not lost on McGlynn. Nor, for that matter, the significance of the lessons learned during his time inside the Rodgers winning machine.
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'I learned a lot at Celtic,' McGlynn said late on Sunday night as he reflected on the journey which has taken him to this point, with another award in his hands.
'Initially for the first 18 months I was working in recruitment with John Park and the recruitment group. Ronny Deila and John Collins were the manager and assistant manager. They were good to work with. Then Brendan came in.'
And everything changed.
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The two men had crossed swords in the dugout back in 2012, when McGlynn led Hearts to Anfield for what became an epic Battle of Britain tie in the Europa League.
Liverpool boss Rodgers eventually came out on top but needed a Luis Suarez goal three minutes from time of the second leg to scrape into the group stages.
McGlynn went on: 'There was a little bit of connection because of the Hearts and Liverpool tie. And he wanted me to look at the opposition which was an amazing job.
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'To learn from him - but not only to learn from him - I was watching domestic and European opposition, so I'm watching Man City, Barcelona, PSG - I'm watching the whole lot. And on a daily basis, I'm watching the Celtic players training.
'I was never on the training pitch. Never ever. It was an office job. But I could look and see what they were doing. I was in meetings with Brendan, I understand what he looks for. And I see the way the team can play.
'You would've been stupid not to learn. I learned so much, and I've managed to put that into the teams I've worked with since.
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'I know that at Raith Rovers, people were loving what they were watching. We were a little bit unlucky, we won Challenge Cups, we were very close, we did a really good job, but they dilly-dallied around a new contract.
'Falkirk came to us - seemed enthusiastic for us - and the rest is history.'
It's historic alright. And McGlynn might take some time to get his head around it.
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He continued: 'It's probably not really sunk in yet. It might be 10 years from now, when you're wandering along the street, you may take in exactly what you've achieved here rather than at this moment.'
And, in any case, the journey has some distance still to run.
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McGlynn's next miracle consists of leading Falkirk into Europe and - given the manner with which they set about Rodgers and Celtic on at the home of champions earlier this season in the Scottish Cup - the notion might not be as fanciful as it seems.
He said: 'I'm sure there's a lot of Falkirk fans talking like that because you see the style of football we play. Sometimes you get some of the Premiership games on TV and think, 'That wasn't particularly attractive,',
'Look, anything could happen to us next season and I've got so much respect for everyone working in the Premiership. But I think we'll be a good addition.
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'Europe might be a little bit ambitious, but you never know.
'The cup game at Celtic Park gave the team a lot of confidence at the time. Although we ended up losing 5-2, with 70 minutes on the clock we were 2-1 up. And how many millions came on the pitch at that point in time?
'One player was £11m, so we're not going to beat ourselves up because of that. But we took a lot of confidence from that. We got a lot of compliments from Celtic, from Brendan, from Celtic fans, which meant a hell of a lot. They've backed us all season because they wanted us to be in the Premiership.'
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Of course, McGlynn's personal journey began 20 years ago when he was twice appointed as interim manager at Hearts after John Roberston and George Burley had been bulleted in the peak Vladimir Romanov years.
He would return to Tynecastle in time for that fateful European run to Merseyside. And now his name is being touted as a leading contender for the position all over again, much to the foreboding of Falkirk's supporters now that they are about to return to the big league for the first time in 15 years.
It's a plot twist which can't be ruled out - perhaps critically - not even by the main protagonist himself.
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McGlynn said: 'It was mentioned the last time as well. It's hypothetical. I've not been asked. I'm contracted to Falkirk.
'If someone at Hearts thinks I should be their manager then we need to speak to the club and the club will talk to me, and then we'll see.'
For now, though, McGlynn appears to have found his calling at Falkirk. And he is gathering up the accolades to prove it.
He added: 'It takes your breath away to be honest with you. All the managers, great managers, that have worked in Scotland, how can I have three of these? It's crazy, but I obviously must be getting something right because people like what I do.'