news-engine

Falkirk boss John McGlynn delighted with defender's 'standout' start John McGlynn reckons summer signing Deniss Meļņiks can only get “better and better” after a “standout” start to his Falkirk career. The Latvian international, 23, joined the Bairns at the start of July after his contract expired at FK Auda in his homeland. And although the defender found himself playing catch-up with his fitness, he managed to impress across his three Premier Sports Cup appearances. Falkirk didn’t make it through the group but Melniks’ performances were a real positive for the boss, who was in general pleased with the defensive side of his team’s showings. Speaking to the Falkirk Herald, McGlynn said: “It’s a frustrating one because we’ve conceded two goals but managed to find ourselves going out at this stage. The goal we conceded against Alloa was the killer. It was self inflicted. But that was no slight on Deniss who was of course not on the pitch at that point. “You never know… you do the due diligence; you spend hours on end watching games, asking people for opinions and character references but simply can’t say for certain if a player can make the step up from one level to another. “But Deniss has taken it in his stride and I can only really see him getting better and better. He has been excellent. With the way things have gone, not getting through, it probably has gone unnoticed that he has been a bit of a standout so far. He is a great size and has worked well with Hendo (Liam Henderson). “He has all the right attributes; he commits himself in the air, he can header the ball well, he can tackle well, he has got good pace. “The long throw is something that we have never had previously. It is something that can be used for sure, and it also puts a bit of panic on the team you are playing. It can help us get out of a tough position as much as it can aid an attack. “We have got almost two back fours right now, and that’s great. You want two players for each position and I find myself having that for my defence.” Melniks will now be hoping to make his league debut this Saturday when Falkirk host St Mirren in their Scottish Premiership opener. Ahead of Saturday’s clash with Craig McLeish’s new-look side, McGlynn said: “The style of play is completely different now. Craig had already made some inroads last season regarding that. "He has brought in different type of players. And to be fair, they’ve started off well. They’ve scored four goals in three of their four games. And they’ve gone from not scoring many goals to scoring a lot of goals. "It’s two clubs who have had a lot of change over the summer. We’re looking forward to it – the first game is always massive. And to be at home again is great. I’m happy about that.”