Friday 20th October, 2017 at 1:35pm
Last Saturday’s loss to Kilmarnock has left Partick Thistle bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership, without a win nine games into the new campaign. The defeat by Killie has piled the pressure on Thistle as they desperately look for that first win of the season to lift the mood around the club. No one has felt the burden of that task more than Jags boss, Alan Archibald, who has spent all week looking for the perfect set-up to topple Neil McCann’s Dundee. Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk ahead of tomorrow vital clash.
Firstly, Archie spoke about the disappointment felt throughout the squad following last weekend’s lacklustre display.
“Monday was always going to be a tough day but we just had to regroup and the lads needed to pick their heads up. We’ve been here before so we know what it feels like and we also know that there’s only one way to address it; hard work going into our next game.”
The gaffer spoke about the experience the squad have of slow starts and how they can try to use that positively in their current situation.
“We have to try to draw from the past. That’s something anyone can do; look back at their experiences whether it’s good or bad and we’re looking to do just that. However, just because we’ve escaped similar situations in the past doesn’t mean that we definitely will this time, we still have to put in a lot of work to turn things around.”
Alan then mentioned the importance of picking up points in the fixtures against teams around us. His side failed to do so against Kilmarnock but the Jags play Dundee and Hamilton in their next two fixtures which offer Thistle the chance to take points from fellow bottom six sides.
“It’s still relatively early in the season but these games are six-pointers. Other managers are saying the same; these games can be the difference between survival and otherwise. If we win tomorrow, we’re just two points behind them and on the other hand, if they win they open up a big gap between themselves and the bottom so the next two games are very important and the players know exactly how important they are.”
Although many think that Thistle’s current squad is the club’s strongest in a while, Thistle boss, Archibald, noted how injuries have hampered his chances to find a good balance in the squad.
“If everyone was fit, this would be the best squad I’ve had by a fair bit but that’s not the case obviously. Last week we had eight senior players missing and any team would struggle with that many out. At the end of the day though, no matter how many were out, there were eleven on that pitch last week and not enough of them turned up.”
Archie then mentioned Andy McCarthy who came off the bench and performed impressively against Killie.
“Things are different for Andy because he had a six-game Development League ban which has meant he’s not played much football this season. He did very well in the time he got last week so he’s in and around the squad, no doubt.”
We also got an update on Thistle’s long injury list ahead of the Dundee clash.
“Steven Lawless is back from illness, he’s trained well this week and Kevin Nisbet was out with a concussion from last Tuesday so he’ll be back in the squad. The rest haven’t changed.”
Archie now makes his final preparations for tomorrow’s vital Ladbrokes Premiership game against Dundee. Kick-off is 15:00 from the Energy Check Stadium at Firhill.
More exclusive preview interviews with Kris Doolan, Steven Lawless and Jags gaffer, Alan Archibald are now available to Jagzone subscribers – log in now to see them. Jagzone members will also be able to watch highlights of the game from midnight.
Can’t make The Energy Check Stadium at Firhill? Jagzone World members (outside the UK and Ireland) can watch the game live – the stream is also available on a PPV basis. Jagzone members can listen to live audio commentary of the match.
For a full list of all the great content you can access from just £5.99 per month as a Jagzone member, click here.
Article Copyright © 2017. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
