Friday 15th February, 2019 at 5:40pm
Partick Thistle return to Ladbrokes Championship tomorrow afternoon as the squad head to the Indodrill Stadium tomorrow afternoon for their third encounter with Alloa Athletic. The Jags have yet to defeat the Wasps this campaign but manager Gary Caldwell was looking ahead to the match when he spoke to ptfc.co.uk
“We’re looking forward to another tough challenge against Alloa Athletic. We’re a totally different Partick Thistle team to the one which went there in my first game in charge. We’ve trained well this week and we’re ready to face another big challenge. We’ve been on a good run of results which has brought confidence to the squad.”
The squad is bolstered by the addition of Scott McDonald and the gaffer was pleased to add to his attacking options for the rest of the campaign.
“We’ve had him in training this week and he’s done really, really well. Physically, he’s as fit as he was when he was at Celtic, if not fitter. He’s lacking match sharpness having not played in over six months. He’s a very experienced player who has played in the league and knows what is needed to go out and perform on a Saturday.
“He still has the ability. He still has the physicality. The most important asset was that he still has the mentality to go and achieve something in the game. He’s got competition for the striking positions, he knows he will have to come in and fight for his place; it won’t just be handed to him on a plate.”
Jamie Sneddon also penned a contract extension late on Friday afternoon and Gary is pleased to have the talented young goalkeeper tied up for another season.
“Jamie is a fantastic young goalkeeper who has developed a lot in the short time I’ve been at the Club. He came into the side at a difficult time in the season and did really well. He works hard in training every day with the other goalkeepers and Kenny Arthur and you can see that he has real talent so I’m glad that we were able to sign him up for another year.”
Last week saw Steven Saunders and Miles Storey limp off with injuries and the gaffer updated us on their status.
“The muscle injuries that Steven Saunders and Miles Storey picked up last weekend are not as bad as first feared. When they first came off we thought it might have been weeks before we saw them back on the pitch again but they’ve been progressing steadily through the week. Saturday might come a bit too soon for them but we’ll give them every chance to be involved in the match. Scott McDonald joins the matchday squad after putting pen to paper on his deal until the end of the season so that is a boost in numbers for us. ”
Finally, the manager updated us with some of the other longer term injuries around the Club.
“Tam O’Ware made it out onto the grass this week which was great to see and a big boost for him. It’s very difficult when you have a long term injury because there is lots of hours you have to spend in the gym on your own. Now that he is on the grass with the ball he can spend more time with the rest of the squad.
“Joe Cardle is making progress as well so hopefully he can come into contention for the squad next Saturday against Ross County.”
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