Friday 12th October, 2018 at 4:59pm
When there’s a managerial change at any club, the experienced heads in the dressing room become even more important than ever. The older players can help to guide their teammates through a difficult spell and there is nobody more experienced when it comes to Thistle than Kris Doolan. Dools has been a Thistle man for almost a decade unbroken and we caught up with the marksman ahead of this Saturday’s clash with Dundee United.
Kris began by touching on the departure of Alan Archibald, a man who he has spent his entire Thistle career alongside, either as teammate or under him as manager.
“Throughout my time here, Archie’s always been there. He was my manager most recently but I’ve always considered him a good friend of mine so it wasn’t easy to see him go. However, for the sake of the Club, change came and that’s something that Archie completely understood.
“He’s someone who cares a lot about this Club and, having seen all the work he put in each day for Partick Thistle, I really hope all his achievements aren’t tossed aside because of how it ended. Few people have dedicated as much of their lives to this Club as he has, especially in recent times, so I hope that’s remembered.”
Dools knows football waits for nobody and he is as aware as everyone else that tomorrow’s match against Dundee United is a big one.
“The game is obviously a very important one. Both teams have lost their manager and are still figuring out where they’re going to end up this season. The league is still very tight which you can tell from the fact that United are fourth and we’re eighth but we can still overtake them with a win.
“We’ve lost back-to-back games for the first time in the league this season and it’s important we don’t get into a losing habit. We’ve been strong at home so far this season and, although improving our away performances will be key, we want to maintain our strong home record too. “
With Gerry Britton and Scott Allison taking training this week things have definitely been different but Doolan for one welcomes a fresh start and was quick to praise the interim pair.
“Training has been good, to be honest. Gerry and Scott are both very good coaches and Gerry’s got that charisma which has helped to lift the spirits a little bit. His character comes across in his coaching and it’s kept everyone engaged.
“I’ve been here for so long that I’ve seen the good and the bad so that’s made this a bit easier. I’ve tried to help the other boys as well, particularly the ones who might not have experienced this situation before because it is very difficult.
“At the end of the day, this is a fresh start now and we have to focus on the task at hand. We’ve had a poor start but promotion is still very much our target.”
With the Club currently undertaking a change, we want to keep all Thistle supporters up to date. That’s why, for this weekend’s match against Dundee United, all preview and reaction videos will be free to view for every Jags fan.
Watch the preview interviews with Cammy Bell, Christie Elliott and Scott Allison free to view.
Jagzone subscribers will also be able to watch extended highlights of the game.
Can’t make it to The Energy Check Stadium at Firhill? Jagzone members can listen to live audio commentary of the match. JagZoneLIVE begins at 2:45pm on Saturday.
For a full list of all the great content you can access from just £5.99 per month as a Jagzone member, click here.
Article Copyright © 2018. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
