Monday 1st June, 2020 at 5:01pm
Partick Thistle can today confirm the signing of central midfielder Ross Docherty on a two-year deal following the expiry of his contract with Ayr United, subject to Scottish FA registration procedures.
The 27-year-old came through the youth ranks at Livingston, making his professional debut at the age of 18, before joining Airdrieonians for the 2014/15 campaign. After a year with the Diamonds, Ross joined Ayr United where he made almost 150 appearances over five campaigns for the Honest Men, earning promotion to the Championship twice before establishing the club within the top half of the division.
Everyone at Firhill offers Ross a warm welcome to Partick Thistle Football Club.
Manager Ian McCall said: “I’ve worked with Ross for a long time, he’s given five years of terrific service at Ayr where he was my captain, and his level of consistency throughout that time was excellent. He’s a fine footballer but it’s also Ross as a person that will improve what we have at the club – he is a winner.
“In terms of his style of play Ross gets all over the pitch, can pass a football well, reads the game and will break up play to let others get on the ball. He is the type of player we need and gives us options, I can see him playing alongside and complementing Stuart Bannigan in the heart of the midfield, potentially allowing us to play another freer player in there. He’s still a relatively young man and we’re all looking forward to working with him at Firhill.”
The club can also confirm that six players whose contracts were due to expire between the end of May and the middle of June 2020 have had their contracts extended to 30th June 2020.
Chief Executive, Gerry Britton, explains: “Throughout these unprecedented circumstances the Club has adopted a “do no harm” philosophy to try to ensure that no one within the Thistle family is worse off as a consequence of a situation completely out of their control. When arriving at decisions, many not easy, we have always asked ourselves – is it the right thing to do?
“With a schedule for the resumption of football not yet confirmed and SPFL discussions ongoing, planning for next season continues to carry uncertainty for all clubs. With that in mind we are continuing to reserve our right to look after our own while they are still our own. So those six players whose contracts are due for expiry by 10th June 2020 have had their contracts extended until the end of this month as we continue to use the government furlough scheme. Just as the club is unable to plan with certainty, neither can these players and so we believe it is right for us to enable them to receive an income until the picture becomes clearer.”
A further squad update will be released next week.
