Saturday 30th April, 2016 at 1:46pm
Thistle are looking to bounce back from consecutive Ladbrokes Premiership defeats tomorrow afternoon when Inverness visit Firhill. Manager, Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk about his thoughts on the game.
“It’s another big game for us. We’re looking to get the three points which will push us above Inverness in the league table, as well as putting a bit of pressure on Dundee in 7th. We’re looking at the teams above us as we try to finish the season in as high a position as we possibly can.
“It’s never enjoyable to lose games but we have analysed where we went wrong last week against Dundee. I felt we played well in the second half and deserved a point but we can up just a little bit short and ended up with nothing.”
The season is close to its conclusion but the manager has warned his players not to think about their summer holidays just yet.
“We’re still not mathematically safe from the relegation playoff slots so the first thing we must do is secure our safety and guarantee we are playing the 2016/17 season in the Premiership. A win on Saturday would go a long way to helping with that goal and would allow us to begin preparations for next campaign.”
Games against Inverness have been attractive, open games with both teams committing to playing football something Archie likes to see.
“Inverness are similar to ourselves in that they like to get the ball down and pass it. It generally makes for good, entertaining games against two sides which are evenly matched all over the pitch.
“We’ve got quite a good record against the highland side since we got promoted to the Premiership and we’re looking to continue that tomorrow. We know that when the players cross the white line it will count for nothing and we’ll have to be at our best to continue our unbeaten fun against Inverness.
Finally, the gaffer brought us up to date with team news.
“We’re able to welcome back Dan Seaborne and Callum Booth after their suspensions last weekend. We missed them in the side and they have both been regulars for a long spell of the season so it’ll be good to have them back in the squad once again.
“On the injury front we’re still missing Tomas Cerny and Gary Fraser. Stuart Bannigan received the good news that he won’t require surgery on his injury, but he will still miss the rest of the season. I suffered from knee injuries during my playing career and I know the impact it can have on a player so I’m delighted for Stuart that he won’t need to have an operation.”
