Peter Houston believes Falkirk could land a psychological blow on Hibernian by racking up points while the Edinburgh side concentrate on the League Cup final.

The two sides are in direct competition at the top end of the Championship, fighting for what looks like being the runners-up position behind leaders Rangers.

Houston's side have moved two points clear of Hibs, though their rivals have a game in hand, and could extend that lead when they face Dumbarton on Saturday.

The Falkirk boss said that winning that game to stretch the gap to five points could give his side a mental edge over Hibs in the battle for second place.

"I think psychologically it’s good," Houston told STV. "We have to look after ourselves.

"Hibs will still have some games in hand over us but then there’s the pressure on that they have to win.

"We haven’t looked too far forward , we’ve tried to take each match at a time. We’ve not tried to say ‘we’ll take nine points out of nine in our next three games’.

"We’ve got a very difficult game against Dumbarton at the weekend and our focus is simply on trying to get three points there."

Houston has just been named as Championship Manager of the Month for February and was keen to direct attention to his players' efforts not just in the last few weeks but over the season so far.

"All credit to the team, I think we’re 19 points ahead of fourth place," he said. "Everybody, all the media, would have expected a two horse race[between Hibernian and Rangers] in the Championship, naturally.

"I’m just delighted that Falkirk have never went away. We’re still there and, in fact, we’ve gone up to second place.

"We can try to get three points on Saturday and maybe put more pressure on Hibs and they would have to win their games. But I think between now and the end of the season there’ll be a lot of games won and lost with the clubs involved because every game in this division is very, very difficult."

The manager said that he still feels Falkirk are the underdogs in the fight at the top, with a smaller fanbase and less resources than Rangers and Hibernian. However, he is keen to push for second place and avoid a two-legged play-off tie against the fourth placed side in the division.

“Our players have been very, very consistent this season," he added. "The mindset is focused on one game at a time.

"They deserve all the credit in the world for getting us into this position where we’re talking about still having an opportunity to finish second in this Championship.

"So if they go about their business in the exact same way as they did from the first game of the season, that’s all I can ask for."