John McGlynn insists he is happy helping Falkirk exceed expectations on their return to Scotland’s top flight but admits “it would be interesting” if one day he was asked to manage a club with more money to spend on players.
The 64-year-old has led the Bairns to successive promotions as league champions, being named PFA Scotland manager of the year for both.
But he revealed “no-one’s ever talked to me” about taking over at another club during his time with the side sitting sixth in the Premiership.
Asked if he had ambitions to manage a bigger club, McGlynn told BBC Scotland: “It would be interesting. I’ve never really had any money.
“Even the short time I was back at Hearts, there was no money there at the time. It was going the other way. They were losing money. And there was no money at Raith Rovers.
“It would be interesting if I was at a club that had a blank cheque book, but myself and [assistant] Paul [Smith] have managed to duck and dive, bob and weave, to get the best team out on the park we can.”
McGlynn was talking after revealing the signing of 21-year-old Sheffield United midfielder Louie Marsh on loan.
“We got a little money to get Louie up and a little money to get [striker] Brian Graham in, but that’s about it,” the Scot said.
Premiership rivals Celtic, Rangers, Kilmarnock and now Aberdeen have been seeking new managers this season, but McGlynn revealed: “No-one’s ever talked to me.
“I am happy to be here and to be entertaining the fans here.”
Celtic, now under Martin O’Neill as interim manager for a second time this season, are Falkirk’s next opponents on Wednesday.
“It is an exciting prospect,” McGlynn said. “Obviously we were first to sample Martin coming back the first time at Celtic Park.
“It didn’t go so well, so we will be looking for something better than that.
“Different at Celtic Park with 50,000 Celtic fans behind their team. The atmosphere is going to be a bit different than Celtic Park with nearly 7,000 fans behind us.
“We are in a good place. We’ve taken nine points from a possible 12. It is a game to look forward to.”
Celtic’s first visit to Falkirk Stadium since 2010 comes four years after McGlynn took charge of a side who had finished sixth in League 1.
“It is a bit of a fairytale,” he admitted. “There are guys here who were in League 1 and who would never have imagined they would be playing at this level – they are excelling.
“So far so good. We are sitting sixth and have a little bit of a cushion, but not enough to think that’s us for the season.
“We’ve shown for half a season we can do it. We’ve just got to show that for the other half.
“We believe we can now and the players have the confidence they needed. We’ve shown other clubs we’re a match for anyone on our day.”
McGlynn points out that Falkirk’s “style and the entertainment value” means they have 5,700 season ticket holders compared to the 2,000 his board expected.
“At the moment, we are very much on the up, but we are not getting carried away,” he said.
What if that top-six finish is secured?
“I would be so proud,” McGlynn added. “It is one of these scenarios where you probably won’t realise exactly what we’ve done here until you are retired and looking back on it.”
