Survival in the SPL counts more than the chance to lift the Scottish Cup at the end of the month for the Bairns.

Tomorrow sees one of the most important games of the season for Falkirk. One so important that midfielder Scott Arfield believes the game against St Mirren is more important than the Homecoming Scottish Cup final against Rangers. The Scotland B player scored his 10th goal of the season at Hamilton on Wednesday night to lift the Bairns off the bottom of the SPL for the first time since early March in combination with St Mirren losing to Kilmarnock. John Hughes' side lead the Buddies by one point as they prepare to meet at the Falkirk Stadium. Falkirk have their Hampden appearance to look forward to at the end of the month where they will try to win the cup for the first time since 1957 but Arfield is adamant that SPL survival is much more important.

He said: "I'm sure if you asked, then 90% of the fans would choose staying in the SPL than winning the cup and I'm sure it's the same for all the boys. It's a tremendous occasion and you are not going to play in the final every year but I think from a footballer's perspective, you want to play against the best teams every year. I'm also sure the fans want Celtic and Rangers coming back to the Falkirk Stadium next season. It was all about winning. We had been bottom of the league for three months so it was a tremendous feeling for me and all the boys. But we have to focus on ourselves now, not St Mirren. Saturday is not going to be a great game. But hopefully we can get on the second ball, get a bit of luck and a few goals and make ourselves safe."

Arfield points to the Scottish Cup semi-final win over Dunfermline as the catalyst for the Bairns' league revival. Falkirk have taken seven points out of a possible nine since beating their big rivals at Hampden and Arfield is hoping the side will travel to the national stadium at the end of the month still as an SPL side. He said: "We took confidence from the semi-final. We didn't want to go into the final knowing that we were in the First Division, so it was a great incentive for us. The next game against Motherwell was a fantastic result and now we've taken seven points. It shows you how much football can change. Everyone was writing us off when we were four or five points behind. But we all stuck together as a club and now it could be the best season Falkirk has ever had, staying in the SPL and getting to the cup final. If we can go to Hampden knowing that we are still in the SPL then it will be a great occasion."

Arfield believes there has been some benefit from the struggles he and the rest of the Falkirk players have experienced this season. He said: "You learn more about yourself when things are not going so well. Last season we were going for the top six and it was all hunky-dory. But we had been bottom of the league for a few months and you know the experience will make you a better player."

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