STEVEN PRESSLEY has an image problem. If truth be told, he's brought much of it upon himself.... Reports the Daily Record
He knows his single-minded approach to winning can easily be interpreted by others as arrogance.
The Italian knot on his Falkirk scarf hasn't helped much either. In fact, rivals fans mockingly refer to him as the Matalan Mancini of the First Division.
But last weekend the public vilification of this young manager reached dangerous new levels when a section of Falkirk's own supporters set the hound dogs on Elvis - demanding his immediate removal on the back of a now seemingly doomed first season push for promotion.
The fans warned they will only stump up for season ticket renewals in advance of the next campaign if the manager is dismissed now.
And from that first moment of open rebellion against his leadership, Pressley's predicament became a great deal more serious than just a question of image. His very future now depends on substance - and not just his own.
Pressley has been putting the work in all right. "I've been doing 70 hour weeks," he lets slip almost by accident as he explains the ferocious intensity that drives him on but also does so much to antagonise his detractors.
"Yes, I am an intense individual. This job is relentless. I leave no stone unturned because I'm striving to bring success here."
From a distance, it seems he's done not too bad a job of it either, even if Falkirk's hopes of bouncing straight back up into the SPL now hang by the thinnest of threads.
Since the top flight was created in its latest form only two clubs - Inverness and Hibs - have climbed straight back to the SPL so the Falkirk manager's first full campaign has hardly been disastrous.
A win at Cowdenbeath tomorrow in fact will keep them in the hunt, with a game in hand over Dunfermline and Raith Rovers, and six more still to play.
That is good deal better than his own bosses had expected when the season began amidst a savage flurry of cost cutting - the wage bill was halved in one fell swoop last summer - when Pressley was told that prudence and not promotion was the club's priority.
And that's where the substance of these same directors will be required if Pressley is not to be hung out to dry for doing nothing more carrying out their orders.
He said: "My biggest difficulty has been managing expectation levels. On the one hand, the board's expectation was very much about controlling the budget - at the start of the season they told me promotion would be a bonus more than a realistic target.
"On the other hand, there is an element among our supporters who demand promotion at all costs. And I'm the guy who has to keep both camps happy. That can be frustrating. I know the parameters and I understand why the board had to streamline things.
"At the same time, I have always been fully committed to trying to get us promoted and I have been trying desperately to win games of football. But the two don't always go hand in hand.
"We need to reach a point where we bottom out before we can start to rebuild again for the future. We still haven't reached that point.
"What is vital now is that the club remains strong and sticks to trying to achieve the strategy. We set out on this road together and we have to see it through.
"No manager can put his hand on his heart and say he enjoys being criticised. But if I need to get through this difficult period in the short term to bring long-term success and stability to Falkirk then it will be worth it.
"If that means I'm the most hated man in the town for a few months then so be it."
So why all the animosity? What is it about Pressley that is so hard to love? He pauses then says: "I'll give you a quotation: Don't concern yourself with reputation, only concern yourself with character.
"Character is what you really are, reputation is what others think you are. That's a good one eh?"
The problem is, it's not. It's exactly the kind of response Pressley's most entrenched critics would expect of him. In fact, quotes like this may have made his current situation more inflamed that it ought to be.
Pressley said: "Things do seem to have become very personal. I honestly don't know why. Maybe it's because we live in a scapegoat society these days and people always need someone to blame.
"But I don't think it would be the same for any other manager. I think it's because Steven Pressley's in charge. That's fine - I'm not one to complain - but I honestly don't know why some people feel a certain way about me.
"Is it a perception problem? It probably is. People have a perception of me which is very different from the perception I have with my players and staff. They'll tell you, I'm a very respectful person."
And his respect for the strategy of the board of directors may have done as much as anything to undermine his own standing with a section of the Falkirk fans.
Pressley has come through for them, implementing their financial constraints while keeping his team competitive. Now the question is, will they now have the backbone to support their man?
He said: "It's vitally important the board have the courage to see this through. Do I think some of them might be wavering? I certainly hope not. I'd be severely disappointed if I wasn't in charge for the start