Was there ever any doubt that Falkirk would eventually get over their sticky start to the season and begin making their way up the Premiership table?

Well yes, actually. Quite a lot of it, in fact.

A mass exodus over the summer saw 17 depart, including a host of key players who helped the side upset the odds last season by making the top six.

Barney Stewart and Calvin Miller left for West Bromwich Albion and Hearts respectively – both bringing in a tidy profit for the club in the process – with Dylan Tait making the move to Premiership rivals Dundee United and Ben Broggio going back to Aston Villa after an impressive loan spell north of the border.

The excellent defensive pair of Filip Lissah and Kyrell Wilson also returned to parent club Swansea, with the former now an automatic starter for the promotion-chasers while the latter is plying his trade in the Belgian top flight with Gent.

Replacing that lot was rightly viewed by most as a near-impossible task. Top six? Forget it.

And results over the first couple of months suggested that survival might have to be the main priority for this year.

But as we enter November, it appears as though those fears were unfounded. We should have known better than to doubt Falkirk at all.

It’s taken a while – certainly longer than manager John McGlynn would have liked – but his new-look squad are finally starting to find their feet.

Winning three on the bounce in the Premiership is no small feat. Indeed, for all the plaudits Falkirk rightly earned on their march to the top half last season, that was something they failed to achieve.

And the most encouraging aspect of this mini-run is that they’ve managed to do it in a very un-Falkirk way.

Motherwell aside, Falkirk were the most entertaining side to watch in the top flight last term, just as they were as they swept away the opposition in League One and the Championship on their incredible journey up the divisions.

It’s not necessarily for a lack of trying, but the free-flowing style which has been the blueprint for so much of their success in recent times has been all but abandoned over the past fortnight.

Aside from two moments of real quality from striker Jacob Murrell at Easter Road, the three points were largely earned thanks to a gritty, dig-your-heels-in kind of performance.

The 3-0 victory against Kilmarnock the following week was fairly comfortable in terms of the scoreline. But the hoolie provided by Storm Boelo rendered that affair a war of attrition rather than a game of football.

And then up at Pittodrie midweek, McGlynn himself admitted that the display was one to be endured rather than enjoyed.

That his side have collected nine points from nine in their last three outings despite being miles off their top level bodes well going forward. Not chucking in late goals has certainly helped spark this upturn in fortunes too.

Dundee United, St Johnstone and Dundee have all taken points off the Bairns this season with virtually the last kick of the ball. They could be five points better off at this stage had they managed to hold out. All ifs and buts, of course.

Yet, at the moment, they don’t even look like conceding. From back to front, the team is gelling together nicely.

Winning with a swagger is all good and well, and that will always be the aim for as long as McGlynn is at the helm. But we’re now seeing a side demonstrating they are every bit as capable of doing it the ugly way if required.

In some ways, the manager might take greater satisfaction in that, at least in the short term.

McGlynn, of course, deserves the bulk of the credit for turning things around. He has completely rebuilt this squad without complaint. The nature of the job and all that.

And, in that regard, he has put several others with significantly bigger budgets to shame. Not that he has ever needed a particularly big budget to succeed anyway.

His eye for a player remains razor sharp. Nineteen-year-old Owen Eames isn’t realistically going to produce anything like the numbers supplied by his predecessor Miller – few could. But the Derby County loanee has taken no time at all to settle into this team. He’s getting better with each passing week.

The same can be said of the chap playing in front of him. Murrell has come a long way from missing two absolute sitters against Rangers on his home debut back in September, scoring five in his seven appearances since.

The American was never remotely prolific throughout his time with DC United in the MLS. In truth, there was little on his CV that would suggest he would be able to cut it. But fair play to him – and the Falkirk scouting team for that matter – for proving the rest of us wrong.

Murrell will no doubt be rubbing his hands at the prospect of going up against a Celtic defence which has been a doddle to get at all season long.

He is playing with the confidence of a guy who only needs one chance to find the back of the net. Against this opposition – top of the table or not – he may well get a few opportunities.

Falkirk have lost their last ten against Sunday’s visitors. However, considering the way they’re playing, this should be viewed as a genuine opportunity to halt that horrid sequence.