Leon McCann: We need to be able to win even when we aren't at our best

His side lost 1-0 to rivals Dunfermline on Saturday, with the result sending the Pars six points clear at the top of League One.

Speaking to the Falkirk Herald, McCann admitted he was gutted after letting the fans down.

“We knew the crowd would be big but it only really hit me when we went out for the warm-up,” he explained. “The stadium was full and the reception we got before the game was really special – it was something I had never experience before.

“I was gutted after the game. The day after a defeat is always horrible but this will hurt for a long time. I can’t put into words how much I wanted to see us score, just so I could see the reaction of the fans.

“These games are never too exciting because of what is riding on them. Teams don’t want to make a mistake and I think the match fell into that category, which suited them.

“I was buzzing to get out onto the pitch and I really thought we could get the three points. Even after the first half I still believed we would do it and we were playing okay at that point without being creative enough in the final third.

“We are such a good passing team and other sides have noticed that - more teams will set up like Dunfermline did. However, we always knew that would happen and it was our job to break them down.”

McCann also believes the consistency of the side has been their downfall so far this campaign.

He added: “To win a league you need to be solid throughout. You can’t keep having blips every month. This match had so much riding on it because we slipped up against Kelty Hearts twice.

“Dunfermline have lost once away to Montrose. We’re 14 games in now and that is what we need to do for the next 14. You can afford maybe two or three blips in a campaign, which is what they are on track for, but you can’t drop as many points as we have done so far.

“They are good at what they are good at. No question are we a better footballing team than them, everyone knows that, I’ve said it before that I think we are the best side in the league – but if you can’t turn that into a win on an off-day, then it doesn’t matter.”