VETERAN Falkirk defender Lee Bullen believes the club are firmly on course to achieve their target of a place in the SPL's top six now they have found a winning formula.
The 37-year-old played his part in Saturday's 1-0 home triumph over Motherwell after Michael Higdon's third goal in a week proved the difference between the teams.
After a run of three straight draws, John Hughes' men survived late pressure to des
ervedly emerge victorious and leap to eighth spot in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.
Following the concession of a late equaliser at Inverness in midweek, Bullen was a relieved man as the club seek to improve on back-to-back seventh-place finishes in the top-flight.
The former Sheffield Wednesday captain, who joined in the summer, has helped the Bairns to remain unbeaten in all but two of their last 12 matches, but he felt a spate of draws was hurting their progress.
He said: "It was a very satisfying win. I felt we had been hitting the bar recently with regards to results and been disappointed. I think frustration is the word I'd use. Draws have been killing us and it was nice to turn that into a victory.
"We were really disappointed heading down the road from Inverness the other night, but we kept a clean sheet against Motherwell and stood up to pressure, especially in the second half.
"Fair play to 'Well, who threw everything at us, but it's a massive pat on the back for everybody involved in the team to hold on. It was a tremendous team effort.
"Our target is to take that one step further than last year and get to the top six. We are all of the belief we have a group of players capable of doing that and we'll be very disappointed if we fall short this season.
"We've jumped a couple of places and now we can start looking up the way instead of behind us."
Higdon's 37th-minute strike was a superb combination goal, the Englishman finishing off a flowing five-man counter-attacking move with a well-placed 18-yard shot.
Bullen, however, feels fellow front man Steve Lovell deserves just as much praise for his efforts.
He added: "I feel a little bit frustrated for Stevie at the moment, because he is working his socks off and the two of them are building a really good understanding.
"But it's Higgie who is getting all the headlines when Stevie's is doing a heck of a lot of work too.
"As a pairing, they are brilliant for us at the back to see them holding the ball up and giving the opposition's defence a roasting at times."
The full article contains 467 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
