FALKIRK acted appropriately in their pursuit of Morton manager Ray McKinnon last month, their chairwoman Margaret Lang has insisted.

Morton chairman Crawford Rae revealed he felt “resentful” after McKinnon departed just hours after Falkirk had asked for permission to speak the Cappielow head coach.

Rae alleged that talks had taken place with the former Raith Rovers and Dundee United manager before an official approach had been made and revealed he would be taking legal advice over the matter.

However, in a lengthy statement posted on the official Falkirk website, Lang was adamant that no rules had been broken.

“We sought permission from Morton to speak to their manager,” he said. “During these discussions Ray made clear his desire to join Falkirk and, after discussions with a number of candidates, he was the outstanding choice.

“We appreciate Morton would have preferred to keep their manager, however, we followed appropriate procedures at all times. We are delighted to have both him and his management team in place to build a positive platform for the season ahead.

“Football is a results driven business. We are seeking promotion and want to compete well against all clubs in the Championship.

“The early results were not what we expected and given our investment, the board felt a change was needed sooner than later. We believe Ray McKinnon is the right person to take the team forward.”

Meanwhile, Lang denied that Ayr United manager Ian McCall and former Ross County manager Jim McIntyre had been offered the position before McKinnon was approached to take over from Paul Hartley.

“Meetings and discussions were held with both, but the only formal offer made by the club was to Ray McKinnon, who accepted” he said.

Meanwhile, Lang has defended Falkirk’s decision to close their youth academy and ex-pressed the opinion they would have put the club at risk if they had kept it open.

“A full business review was undertaken during the second half of 2017 that showed ever-increasing costs related to our development of young players,” she said.

“This included the academy and ongoing development of players in our development team. The total cost at that time was £340,000 per year. This would rise to £433,000 in the first year under Project Brave and up to £467,000 per year by year three.

“This also excludes any capital or running costs of an indoor facility. This was unsustainable for a club of our size and in danger of putting the future of the club itself at risk.

"While we regret the upset the decision caused, financial projections showed that without substantial cost savings the Club would have run out of money by April 2018. We could not allow that to happen."