Friday 5th May, 2017 at 8:22pm
A spirited second half performance saw 10-man Partick Thistle take a point from Tynecastle on Saturday and now the Jags must look for a similarly impressive performance with Rangers who are the visitors this Sunday. Thistle are the only team in the Scottish Premiership not to have taken points from the Gers and will no doubt be looking to amend that statistic. Ahead of the clash, Thistle boss Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk to look towards that game.
Firstly, we spoke to Alan about his recently announced nomination for the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year award.
“I must admit that I was surprised. At the end of the day, we haven’t won silverware this season and we see Jim Duffy taking Morton to the cup semi-finals and others making two finals so I’m honoured to be thought of in such high regard. Also, it’s other managers who vote for it which makes it even more special for me. It’s not from anyone on the outside or sponsors, it’s fellow professionals and to get recognition from them is humbling in a way.”
Archie also touched on Liam Lindsay’s inclusion in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year after a great campaign for the young centre-half.
“It’s fantastic for the club and the Weir Academy as Liam has come through the ranks here. He was in my under-17s team when I was taking it and he’s been out on loan twice. The outstanding thing is that he never stops improving, he’s always trying to better himself which is a credit to him. In his first season, he was making mistakes and taking some flak but good players can learn from the mistakes they make and there’s no doubt that he’s done that.”
The gaffer was very complimentary of Lindsay’s attitude and ability to stay grounded despite a lot of pressure being put on him.
“He’s not a ‘big-time Charlie’ – far from it. He’s a level-headed boy, he has a good temperament. Liam’s a good lad overall, he doesn’t shy away from working and is always looking to learn and he seeks advice when he needs it, too.”
Liam has been a part of a great defensive units that has been one of the league’s best since Christmas and Archie is very pleased with the group he’s brought together.
“This year and last year, we’ve been very proud of our defence. It’s been consistently in the top four or five in the league which is something to be celebrated. You have to remember that we’ve lost parts of our defence in the last two or three years but the guys we’ve brought in like Daniel Devine and Niall Keown have done brilliantly.”
After Rangers suffered a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Celtic last week some may think that the Gers would be vulnerable but Archibald knows that the task ahead is anything but easy.
“They’ll be hurting from the last result but they’ll also be desperate to put it right. They’ll want to show their fans that they do have something to offer. However, we need to concentrate on ourselves and put out a better performance than the one at Ibrox three weeks ago when we were horrendous. We need to focus on ticking our own boxes before concerning ourselves with Rangers.”
Thistle’s clash with Rangers is the final iteration of this fixture this season and kicks off at 12:15 at Firhill.
A more in depth video interview with Alan Archibald is now available to Jagzone subscribers. Log in now to see it. Jagzone members will also be able to watch highlights of the game from midnight.
Can’t make 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.
Alan has committed, will you join him? 2017/18 season tickets are now on sale.
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