Saturday 4th April, 2015 at 10:21am
Having had a weekend with no fixture Thistle boss, Alan Archibald, is ready and raring to go ahead of Saturday’s match against Aberdeen, a team experiencing something of a resurgence under Derek McInnes.
“It’s a massive game for us and a great opportunity to build on the period of good form we have had in recent weeks. Aberdeen are doing very well this season and Derek has them playing some good stuff.
“The last time we were at Pittodrie I thought we were disappointing and didn’t produce anywhere near what we are capable of. We’ll be looking to improve on that this time around and I know that if the boys do their jobs right there’s no reason why we can’t come back down the road with the points.”
Thistle haven’t won at Pittodrie since 2003 but that isn’t a stat that bothers Archibald.
“I think people do have a tendency to write us off against the bigger teams but we’ve shown recently how well we can play against sides in the top six.
“Games against Aberdeen are always going to be hard, especially given the form they are showing this season, but there’s never going to be a better time for us to play them than right now. The squad is full of confidence and we’ve been playing some good stuff.”
In the wake of the win over Inverness there was a wave of people suggesting that Thistle had pulled themselves clear of the relegation dog fight, but Archie knows there are still plenty of point up for grabs.
“There’s a long way to go yet and we need to make sure we push to the very end and finish as high up the table as possible. The bottom of the table is still vey tight and it looks like it will go right down to the wire. We were involved in the stramash at the bottom last season and we want to make sure we aren’t there this time.
“Securing safety as early as possible is massive for any team as it allows you to plan for the next season. Our aim isn’t just to get safe though we want to finish as high in the league as possible.”
Following the victory against Inverness Archibald will have pretty much the same squad to choose from this week.
“It’s pretty much the same as last time out. Dan Seaborne and Christie Elliott both miss out. Sean Welsh started jogging again this week but there’s still a way for him to go before he’ll be back in contention. The good news is the Kallum Higginbotham returns from suspension which gives us something different going forward.”
