Falkirk manager John Hughes said his heart went out to Inverness after his side came out on top in an absorbing relegation battle.

The Bairns secured their Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League status with a priceless 1-0 win at the Caledonian Stadium.

Substitute Michael Higdon came off the bench to turn home Jackie McNamara's inviting cross after 68 minutes to rescue the Bairns from the drop.

Falkirk capitalised on their numerical advantage after Ross Tokely had been sent off for a last man foul in the first half.

Afterwards a gracious Hughes paid tribute to Terry Butcher's men.

He said: "My commiserations go to Inverness. I really feel for them as it is a wonderful club.

"I always enjoy coming up here. It is a wonderful part of the world and a very well-run club.

"It is not a nice way to win when you play against 10 men and my heart goes out to Ross Tokely, who has been a great servant to his club over the years.

"You feel like you may have won by default but then I put my Falkirk hat on and remember that we still had to go out there and win the match."

Hughes admitted he had to have a stern word with his charges during the break after a lacklustre first 45 minutes.

He said: "I said to my players at half-time not to bother going out for the second half if they were going to continue to play in the same way they did in the first half.

"I'm very thankful that we got our reward in the second half. I'm really pleased for the team, especially Michael Higdon.

"The players have worked so hard over the past few months. I think we will all be better for having gone through this experience."

Midfielder Scott Arfield paid tribute to his manager for his inspired substitution in bringing on Higdon at the right time.

He said: "The gaffer obviously made a big decision in leaving him out but it worked for him. Michael came on and had the bit between his teeth. He was in the right place to get the goal that will keep us in the SPL."

The 20-year-old said he was absolutely delighted to escape relegation and said the club could now look forward to a day out at Hampden in the Scottish Cup final against Rangers next weekend.

He added: "It is a great feeling to stay up. We have been bottom of the league for a few months now so to finish the season still in the league is a brilliant achievement and shows the character the squad has.

"I think it would have been hard to pick ourselves up for the final next week if we had lost today. We can now go and look forward to the match."

Match-winner Higdon hailed "the most important goal of my career".

Higdon's second-half goal kept his side up but relegated 10-man Inverness in the Highlands.

And the Englishman was happy to look ahead to next week's cup final showdown with Rangers.

He said: "It's definitely the most important goal of my career, without a doubt - unless I score in the cup final next week!"

Man of the match McNamara said on Setanta Sports 1: "Survival was the main objective today and we've managed to do that under a lot of pressure.

"There's no trophy at the end of it but it feels like we've won a trophy today, it's a fantastic feeling. We're disappointed for the Inverness lads but we've got to look after ourselves and our supporters."

Inverness boss Terry Butcher believes Tokely's sending off was a massive factor behind the defeat.

He said: "I have only seen the incident once but I think there was doubt about it being a goalscoring opportunity. But there is no point being bitter. We have had opportunities to get ourselves out of trouble and we only have ourselves to blame."

The Inverness boss said he was very proud of his players, despite finishing bottom of the league on goal difference.

He said: "My players have been fantastic for me and they have given everything for the club. To lose out on goal difference is a really bitter pill to swallow.

"I thought we did really well today and everything looked to be coming to fruition before the red card came along. But the players were tremendous after that and we had chances at the end to get back level.

"We weren't far away and that makes it even more galling and soul destroying. Had we been relegated seven or eight games ago it may have felt different but to have gone so close is very hard to take."

Butcher added that his heart went out to Tokely for his part in the club's defeat.

He said: "Ross is devastated but he shouldn't feel bad as he has been one of the key members of our squad and he has been terrific for us."

Caley keeper Michael Fraser, who made his last appearance for the club before joining Motherwell, said he was hugely disappointed with the result.

He added: "It is very hard to take. I'm sure the club can bounce back if we can manage to hold onto our good players and excellent manager.

"It is a terrible thing to happen to Ross as he is Inverness through and through. But he is a big, strong lad and he will bounce back."