Friday 21st July, 2017 at 5:42pm
The Betfred Cup returns to Firhill tomorrow afternoon with the visit of St Mirren to Maryhill. The Buddies sit two points ahead of The Jags, albeit having played a game more.
Thistle know a win is needed if hopes of progressing from group H are to remain alive and the mood in the camp is upbeat ahead of Saturday’s fixture.
Manager Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk with just over 24 hours to go until the first Firhill fixture of the campaign.
“We’re looking forward to the game tomorrow. The pitch looks great, the stadium is ready and all we need is just to get going on the referee’s whistle.
“We face another tough opponent in St Mirren. Jack Ross had an excellent second half of the season with them last year to drag them to safety when they were in a tough spot and they have a lot of good players playing for them. He has managed to keep the nucleus of his side together and there are some top quality players in his side.”
With Livingston taking control of the group in the early stages, Archie knows his side need to take their chances in front of goal to secure the much needed points.
“Looking back at last week’s game, we started well. For the majority of the first half we were on the front foot and if we had got the second goal then I’m sure we would have claimed all three points. We didn’t get that and they scored a quick goal at the start of the second half to put us on the back foot.
“The players all have another 90 minutes under their belt, but they will come up against a team who are slightly ahead of them in terms of minutes as St Mirren played during the week. I was at the 2021 stadium watching the game so I know what threats St Mirren are going to pose and the squad are all prepared for the challenges ahead.”
The gaffer was missing a number of key first team players last weekend and hopes to have a stronger squad to pick from tomorrow afternoon.
“Mustapha Dumbuya and Gary Fraser will definitely be missing for the longer term. Gary has been out for such a long time so we always knew it would take him a bit of time to get back up to speed with the rest of the squad.
“Hopefully we can get one of Niall, Abdul and Callum back for selection for Saturday’s game. If not, then we’ll have to go with the same squad against St Mirren.”
More exclusive preview interviews with Daniel Devine and Steven Lawless as well as 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.
Can’t make it to Firhill? Jagzone members can listen to live audio commentary of the match. JagZoneLIVE begins at 2:30
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