Monday 9th May, 2022 at 1:33pm
With our 2021/22 campaign coming to an end, it is now time for us to provide an update on the first team squad with a number of players leaving the club at the end of their contracts.
Firstly, Lewis Mayo, Andy Firth, Juan Alegria, Kyle McAllister and Alex Jakubiak will all return to their parent clubs at the end of their loan spells.
Now, there are a further five players who will leave the club at the end of their current contracts and they are Richard Foster, Steven Bell, Ciaran McKenna, Connor Murray and Stephen Hendrie.
Foster arrived in Firhill in the summer of 2020 and played a key part in the team’s title charge, missing just two league games and playing the full 90 minutes in the final eight games of the term.
He has played a further 33 games for the club this season, helping the defence to a record-breaking run of eight consecutive clean sheets at the back end of 2021.
Steven Bell initially joined the club on loan from East Kilbride last year to help our League One title hopes and he played 10 times during the run-in to help turn those hopes into a reality.
Then, after penning a one-year deal, he appeared in our first five games of the 2021/22 campaign but injury ruled him out for a huge chunk of time thereafter, eventually making his return as a substitute on 4th March against Inverness before playing six further games towards the end of the season.
Ciaran McKenna arrived from Hamilton in 2020 and after an early injury problem came back to contribute consistently to the team’s promotion push, featuring at right-back predominantly.
This season, he played 32 times and scored his first competitive goal for the club in a 1-1 draw with Arbroath at Gayfield Park.
Connor Murray joined the club from Queen of the South ahead of the 2020/21 League One season and was another who proved important to our eventual title win. Murray’s first goal for the Jags was a crucial one as he netted the winner in a 1-0 win over Montrose in November 2020.
He bagged a further three goals in March 2021, ending the season having made 26 appearances altogether.
This season, the midfielder has appeared 27 times and scored one goal, the fifth in our 6-1 victory over Hamilton Accies at the Fountain of Youth Stadium.
Stephen Hendrie signed a short-term deal at Firhill last September having left Morecambe during the summer and went on to earn an extension until the end of the 21/22 season, which he signed in December.
Debuting in an SPFL Trust Trophy game at Queen of the South, Hendrie found opportunities limited early in his Maryhill stay but has played considerable minutes at the back end of the season, making 19 appearances in total including starts in seven of our last eight games this term.
The club remain in discussions with Robbie Crawford and will provide a further update following the conclusion of those discussions.
Everyone at Partick Thistle Football Club wishes the departing players all the best for the future and thanks them for their contributions during their time at the club.
Thistle manager Ian McCall said:
“It’s never easy to tell any player that they’re leaving the club, but today was extra difficult. All of the players have played their part in our Championship season and reaching the Premiership play-offs.
“I must add that Richard Foster and Steven Bell have been hugely important figures, on and off the pitch, during this period.
“I thank them all and wish them all the very best for the future.”
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