Falkirk defender Lewis Neilson says it was a “surreal” feeling to be 5-0 up at one point during Sunday’s match against Hearts at Tynecastle.
The 23-year-old played the full 90 minutes against his former club in Falkirk’s 5-2 victory over Hearts.
Neilson joined Falkirk on a permanent basis this summer upon the expiry of his contract at Hearts. He spent the duration of last season on loan with the Bairns, making 24 appearances as John McGlynn’s men achieved a top-six finish on their return to the Scottish Premiership.
Speaking after the match, Neilson said: “Yeah, good. Obviously really enjoyable. Surreal at one point, 5-0 up at Tynecastle, it’s not something even with the confidence we’re in we really expected.”
“You could go through the whole team, everyone’s playing at the top of their game, but some real good players at the top end of the pitch, some game changers. I think that showed today.”
He is now relishing the continuation of regular game time this season, featuring in 14 games in all competitions so far this campaign.
“Yeah, exactly. That was a big thing for me. I wanted somewhere that I could call home. I loved my time at Falkirk last year. I knew it was the right place for me. Playing every week at the minute in a really, really good team with some great players around me. So loving it.”
The former Hearts man credited his manager John McGlynn for being a big part of his decision to sign for the club and is now making the most of his opportunity.
“Yeah, no, a million per cent. He’s probably a massive part of why I chose to sign for Falkirk. He was brilliant with me last year. He’s brilliant with everyone that comes in.
“He’s brought together a really good group of boys this year. He’s been brilliant with me and I can only thank him for giving me this opportunity. Loving every second of it.”
Falkirk had taken a while to get going this season, dealing with the losses of key players from last season, although Neilson said the quality of his team-mates was never doubted and believed it was only a matter of time before things would start to click on the pitch.
“Yeah, no, exactly. A massive turnover. A club like Falkirk, you’re always going to have that, I think. We rely on a lot of loan boys with the lack of funds we’ve got. But no, five, six weeks ago you probably got a lot of people tipping us to go down, but the way the boys have gelled, we knew the quality was always there. It was just a matter of timing. It looks like it’s coming together, five wins in the last five, three clean sheets in there as well, so hopefully we can keep going.”
Falkirk head into the international break third in the Scottish Premiership full of confidence. Neilson now hopes they can retain their current league position moving forward.
“That 100 per cent has to be our ambition. We know we’ve got a really, really good group of boys in there, a lot of quality. And I think more than anything else, a group of boys that are willing to work hard in every single game.
“And I think that shows. So we’re in third now. There’s no reason why we can’t look to stay there.”
Falkirk and Neilson’s desire to remain in third place will be tested when they host St Johnstone at the Falkirk Stadium on November 21st.
