Falkirk boss John Hughes admits he will have to look at strengthening his squad following their meek Scottish Cup exit at Aberdeen.The 3-1 scoreline failed to reflect Aberdeen's superiority and Graham Barrett's consolation came after the striker had seen a softly-awarded penalty blocked by Jamie Langfield.

Jeffrey de Visscher notched in between Jamie Smith's double, which was completed within 10 minutes of the restart of the fourth-round replay.

Lee Miller and Derek Young hit the woodwork for the Dons, who also saw Scott Severin's penalty saved by Tim Krul.

The Dutchman made a string of saves to keep the score down before being carried off with a suspected dislocated shoulder following his 73rd-minute spot-kick save.

Hughes was disappointed with the way his side folded and is already considering bringing in some senior professionals to bolster his squad.

He said: "I would like to think we have got better character than what we showed. We can knock the ball around but we need to be more spirited and resolute. I thought we were soft and felt sorry for ourselves.

"We have to have the character to stand up to it and have the belief that we can keep a clean sheet.

"I can't be too critical of my players. The boys have been outstanding for us at times and I'm sure they will be again.

"But I will need to assess it. I need to start bringing in better quality players to my club if I want to come to places like Pittodrie and turn them over.

"I will need to batter the heads together and see where we are going. We need some spirit in the dressing room.

"We have asked young boys to do a man's job. Maybe it's time to get two or three experienced players in there to help."

Aberdeen boss Jimmy Calderwood was delighted with his side's display following two draws at Falkirk and a 3-0 defeat at Dundee United on Saturday.

And his optimism for the remainder of the season is high with the Dons still fighting for a UEFA Cup spot and still in this season's tournament with Bayern Munich to come next month.

They face Dundee United next Tuesday in the CIS Insurance Cup semi-finals before taking on Brechin or Hamilton in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.

"We are into the next round and deservedly so," he said. "We have knocked out a very good team. We have got a home draw, which is very unusual in the time I have been here.

"We are convinced that, as bad as we have been, when we do play we are capable of beating anybody. We are still fighting on all fronts despite the disappointment at Tannadice.

"We are still in the two cups and have a wee game against Bayern coming up also."

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