Ryan Gravenberch is set to secure a new long-term contract with Liverpool (Credits: Imago Images)
John McGlynn is handing trialist David Ninkovich a second week at Falkirk as the club looks to assess whether the winger has what it takes.
Ninkovich arrived from Australia, where he had been playing for Perth Azzurri, and featured in the final half hour of Tuesday’s friendly win over Airdrie.
The extended trial period is designed to allow the winger time to recover from the physical demands of long-distance travel before any final judgment is made.
McGlynn drew a notable comparison when explaining his willingness to give the player a proper opportunity to prove himself at the club.
“John Baird recommended him, I had a look at all the stuff he sent me and I thought, ‘You never know, it could be a new Barney Stewart, who knows?'” McGlynn said.
The Falkirk manager made clear that discovering players through unconventional routes is something the club has deliberately embraced as part of its recruitment approach.
“And that’s how we’ve managed to come up with guys like that by at least giving them a little bit of an opportunity,” McGlynn added.
Because Ninkovich is not yet a signed player, he cannot feature in official competitive fixtures, but a friendly against Genk next Saturday could offer him further game time.
“He’s done well. Coming from Australia, we wanted to make sure he got a reasonable amount of time,” McGlynn said, outlining the rationale for the extended assessment.
Falkirk head into their Premier Sports Cup opener against Edinburgh City today carrying a number of injury concerns, with Finn Yeats, Jack McMillan, Scott Bain, and Keelan Adams all sidelined.
McGlynn acknowledged that rotation across the cup group stage will be unavoidable given the compressed and unusual nature of this pre-season period.
The Bairns have managed only a single friendly ahead of the competition, owing to a late season finish and a training week in Portugal eating into preparation time.
“We’ve never really been in this position — we’d normally finish a week or two earlier than we did and have a number of pre-season friendlies,” the manager admitted.
Despite the difficult preparation, McGlynn remains focused on progressing through the group, recognising the financial and competitive value a deep cup run delivers.
“This year’s different, so it’s not ideal but I’m sure we’ll make the most of it,” he said with measured confidence heading into the opening fixture.
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