Falkirk speak to Jim McIntyre about manager's position

McIntyre was sacked by Ross County eight days ago

Former Ross County boss Jim McIntyre has spoken to Falkirk about their managerial vacancy.

The 45-year-old told BBC Scotland that the talks were informal.

McIntyre, who has also had spells in charge at Dunfermline and Queen of the South, was sacked by County last week and replaced by Owen Coyle.

Falkirk sit eighth in the Championship, with technical director Alex Smith overseeing a 1-0 win against Morton at Cappielow on Saturday.

Smith, 77, stepped in following the departure of Peter Houston.

On Monday, Kilmarnock's major shareholder Billy Bowie told BBC Scotland that McIntyre would be "well worth an interview" should he apply for the post at Rugby Park, but McIntyre says he has not spoken to the club.

Killie decided to part with Lee McCulloch on Sunday, with the Ayrshire club bottom of the Premiership.

McIntyre, who played for Kilmarnock from 1996-98, spent three years with County, steering them to League Cup success in 2016, the Highland side's first major silverware.

Speaking to BBC Scotland's Sportsound on Tuesday, McIntyre revealed his surprise at the decision of County owner Roy MacGregor to relieve him of his duties in Dingwall.

"[I was] obviously really disappointed that Roy chose to take that decision," McIntyre said.

"We had a difficult start to the season and we knew we were coming into a couple of games that we felt we could pick up points in.

"I enjoyed a fantastic relationship with Roy for three years. He's made a judgement call; I disagree with that of course.

"We're proud of the work that we'd done there," he continued. "Keeping the club up was probably our biggest achievement, not winning the (League) cup.

"To follow that up the following season with a top-six finish was fantastic. That is over-achieving for Ross County. To win the cup was just an incredible journey for all of us."

McIntyre revealed he held talks over a new contract this summer, and despite a run of five defeats in six league games, felt he was only one result away from keeping County on track for the target set for him.

"I was set a target at the start of the season [of finishing] between seventh and ninth. Anything above that was ultra-success. From that side of things, we knew a result at Kilmarnock [where Ross County won 2-0 on Saturday] and you're where you should be.

"Roy gave me fantastic backing while I was at Dingwall but equally, we were good for him. We produced when it mattered. "