Beat drop and you could lift the Cup! HOLT GIVES BAIRNS A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE.

Byline: GAVIN BERRY

GARY HOLT insists Falkirk's Scottish Cup Final fate will be decided a week before they even set foot on the Hampden turf.

Beat Inverness in Saturday's relegation finale and Holt swears the Bairns will swagger on to the National Stadium infused with belief that an unlikely dream double is their destiny.

Lose though, and their descent to Division One will be compounded by a Hampden hiding.

Former Kilmarnock hero Gary, 36, is living proof of how SPL salvation can catapult a struggling side to sensational cup conquest.

He played a pivotal role in helping Kilmarnock avoid relegation just weeks before lifting the famous old trophy with victory over Falkirk in 1997.

Bobby Williamson's men needed a point from their last game against Aberdeen - and Holt grabbed the crucial 73rd-minute equaliser to ensure Premier League survival.

The midfielder reckons ending the league campaign on a high was the perfect springboard for cup success. Now he's adamant Falkirk won't have a better weapon in their bid to shock Rangers at Hampden than emerging from their do-or-die clash at Inverness with their SPL status intact.

Gary, who helped Wycombe win promotion to League One this season, said: "If you avoid relegation you have finished the season on a high and everyone is saying how well you've done.

"People are talking about you for the right reasons and it's not the doom and gloom that has been hanging over the club all season.

"We went in to the match as cup favourites obviously, being the SPL side, but if we had gone down that year we may well have been turned over. You saw it with the likes of Dunfermline a couple of seasons ago who had been relegated just before they played Celtic in the final.

"I could well imagine players feel sorry for themselves in that situation - I don't know how I'd have been able to cope.

"But we were full of confidence thanks to our league run-in which even included a draw at Parkhead when we were only denied the win by Pierre van Hooijdonk in injury time. Scoring my first goal for my home town club against Aberdeen to keep us up then lifting the Scottish Cup in the same season was something dreams are made of.

"I haven't had many ends to a season like that one, although this year with Wycombe comes close.

"We only needed a point to clinch promotion but lost in the 90th minute and had to hang on because Bury's game was five minutes behind ours.

"They scored in injury time and needed another goal to pip us but finally the result came through that they had won 1-0 and we got promoted by a goal.

"I thought we'd blown our chance - it was a hairy moment." Holt also reckons the battle for cup final jerseys prompted by Falkirk's semi-final win over

Dunfermline has helped their battle to beat the drop.

But he just hopes if John Hughes steers his side to safety it does not come at the expense of his old club Killie.

Holt said: "When you have the incentive of a cup final to look forward to it makes the relegation battle a bit easier.

Spurred "Obviously when you win the semi-final you get a positive reaction.

"You know that showpiece is looming so it gives you something exciting to look forward to.

"That spurred us on as we looked to beat the drop and in the end we had a double bonus because we stayed up and won the cup. We played really well in the last four or five weeks and went in to the final at Ibrox on a real high.

"Beating Dundee United in the semi-finals proved a springboard and that was certainly the case on a personal level.

"I had just come back from injury to play in the replay win over United after having been gutted to miss the initial match.

"It was great to be back contributing and even better that I then scored the goal in our league season that kept us up.

"There's no better boost to your confidence than winning a cup semi and everyone's playing for that place in the final.

"They all to produce to their best and that's key - it helps you in the relegation fight."

CAPTION(S):

Grand finale: Hero Holt heads Killie to SPL safety with a last-day equaliser against Aberdeen (above) then laps up Scottish Cup glory with Gary Locke and Paul Wright The magic Wanderers: Gary flies the flag with manager Peter Taylor as Wycombe enjoy promotion party