Friday 21st February, 2020 at 12:06pm
Given recent weather conditions and the current forecast for the next 24 hours, there will be a precautionary pitch inspection at 10am tomorrow morning ahead of our Ladbrokes Championship fixture against Dunfermline Athletic.
A lot has happened to Reece Cole since the midfielder made his Partick Thistle debut in the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup against Montrose way back in September. Cole has become a key part of Ian McCall’s team, playing 22 times in all competitions recording four assists and scoring four goals along the way including his dramatic late winner against Queen of the South in December. He’s since agreed a loan extension to keep him in Maryhill until the end of the season and the Englishman is desperate to help the team return to winning ways and climb away from the foot of the Ladbrokes Championship table, starting this weekend against Dunfermline Athletic. Reece spoke to ptfc.co.uk ahead of the fixture:
“It’s a big game for us. We need to get points on the board and start moving in the right direction. We don’t care how we get them, whether it’s a great 3-0 win or a scrappy 1-0, we just want to get that winning feeling back because it’s been far too long.”
The pitch at the Energy Check Stadium at Firhill is heavy but playable as things stand with a pitch inspection pending on Saturday morning but Reece knows the team can’t let conditions dictate how they play.
“It’s the same for both teams at the end of the day and neither side will really enjoy playing on a pretty heavy surface but you have to make the most of it and also adapt to it as much as you can. I highly doubt it’s going to be a pretty game but, as I said earlier, it’s not about the football now; it’s about the points.
“There are times in every game when you have to fight, especially in this league. We still want to play good stuff and pass it well but we also understand that we need to be able to do both sides of the game.”
Last time out against Dunfermline, Reece scored his first league goal as a Jag but, even so, it was a day he’d rather forget.
“That was an awful game for everyone really. Tam got sent off so early on and after that it was a tough shift. It was nice to score the free kick that day but it wasn’t even a consolation really and I’d much rather score a meaningful one against them this time round.”
Cole ended with a word for the Thistle support who have not had much to cheer about since the beginning of 2020.
“We need your support now more than ever. We haven’t been good enough so far this year and we’ve let ourselves and the fans down too often but we’re working really hard to turn things around and need the supporters’ backing to do that so please keep turning out every weekend.”
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