JOHN Hughes believes Falkirk's poor start to the new season is due to his players resting on their laurels after the achievements of previous campaigns.
They host Hearts tomorrow seeking to end a disappointing four-game losing run in the Premier League.
After just missing out on a first-ever top-six berth to Aberdeen last term, much was expected of Hughes' charges this season. But league defeats
to Rangers, Hibs, Celtic and Inverness have been offset only by a Co-operative Insurance Cup victory at Raith Rovers.
Manager Hughes is now enjoying a fourth straight campaign in the top flight with Falkirk and feels his squad may have lost the edge that first brought them success.
Now he insists hard work is the only way to get themselves off the foot of the table. He said: "Over the last couple of years, first getting into the SPL, everybody said they'll get relegated.
"We created a siege mentality on the back of that to say 'we will show you'. "It stood us in great stead because we played like underdogs every week.
"People were saying the second year is harder and all the wee (newspaper] cut-outs went on the wall.
"So proving everybody wrong was there again. But just this year, right from the pre-season, it's not been there. Maybe that has resulted in us not having anything on the board at the moment.
"But we've played difficult matches and nobody gives you the divine right to win them. Anything we get, we need to work for and that's the message I'm putting out to the players and supporters."
The full article contains 276 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
