Saturday 23rd July, 2016 at 12:00pm
As the Betfred Cup action continues tomorrow afternoon, manager Alan Archibald is looking forward to get back to action at Firhill. He spoke to ptfc.co.uk to build up to the game against Queen of the South.
“It’ll be good to get back in front of our home fans at Firhill. We’ve had to play every game away from home during pre-season to give our pitch time to get into fantastic condition ahead of the new season. We spent a lot of money on the pitch over the summer and it was money we had to spend to improve it. A good surface helps the way we like to play so it’s great to be heading back to a magnificent grass pitch at Firhill.”
With the way the group is shaping it up, tomorrow’s game could be crucial in determining who wins the group and guarantees progression to the next round of the Betfred Cup.
“I’ve seen both of Queen of the South’s games in the cup. They are a very strong, organised side and will be tough opponents for us tomorrow. It’s probably a must win game for us now, which is strange because you don’t usually get them until much later in the season.
“We’ll be looking to freshen up the team but it’s difficult because of the injuries we’ve had. Some teams have been able to use the competition to rotate their squads and we’ve not had the chance to do that. It’s a game that we are looking to win.”
The last time Thistle faced the Doonhamers was in the Challenge Cup final back in April 2013 and the gaffer is hoping for another cup run this season.
“We’ve starved our fans of a good cup run. The last time we had one was in the Ramsden’s Cup final back in 2013 and, even though we lost, it was a magnificent day. There were 10,000 fans there supporting the two sides and that was a little taste of it. We’ve had nothing since then and we are all desperate to get back on a cup run. We know the first step is qualifying out the group and Saturday is another game closer to doing that.”
Finally we asked the gaffer for his team news ahead of the Betfred Cup tie.
“The goalkeepers are both still doubts. We’re hoping that one of Cerny and Scully will be able to go on the bench and hopefully he won’t be called upon. Our young goalkeeper Conor Cullen is away in Ireland at the Foyle Cup.
“David Amoo is the closest to a return and we’ll give him every chance to make it for the game at Firhill on Saturday. Daniel Devine picked up a knock against Airdrie but we hope he’ll make it.
“Christie Elliott, Gary Fraser, Stuart Bannigan, Mustapha Dumbuya and Abdul Osman are definitely out of this game.”
