EXCLUSIVE
THE league table doesn’t lie. That is the unfortunate truth for Partick Thistle.
An eighth defeat in nine matches – a 1-0 loss at Queen of the South on Saturday - for boss Gary Caldwell condemned his side to bottom spot in the Championship.
And midfielder Craig Slater knows there would be no time like the present to stop the rot and start transforming their fortunes at Firhill.
It has been a season to forget for Thistle so far but the visit of Dunfermline this weekend gives them another chance to finally kick-start their campaign.
Slater said: “The results haven’t been great, everyone knows that, but we want to turn it around as soon as possible. It has gone on for too long and results need to start coming.
“We keep saying there is enough quality in the changing room but we need to start performing on a Saturday and putting points on the table.
“It has been a disappointing start but there are still enough games left to turn it around.
“There is obviously a reason why we are bottom of the league and we need to address that and make sure that the results come.
“We have been working hard and we have stuck together so we are confident that it will change and the results will come.
“There are enough games to turn it around. We have to remain positive. We can’t afford to get stuck in a rut.”
It was to prove a disappointing afternoon all round for Slater on Saturday as he had to watch on from the Palmerston stands as Stephen Dobbie netted the only goal of the game.
The summer signing was ruled out of the Queens clash through injury and will miss the visit of the Pars tomorrow afternoon as well.
But he is confident he will be back in action sooner rather than later as he looks to help Thistle climb the Championship standings.
Slater said: “I will just be a couple of weeks I think. It was nothing too serious, just a strain, so it was better to miss a couple of weeks rather than rushing back and being out a wee bit longer.
“We played a closed-door game last week and I picked it up then.
“You don’t want to do more harm than good so I will make sure that it is right and hopefully be back soon enough because nobody likes being injured. I want to get back and help the team.
“It wasn’t great on Saturday not being involved and it was obviously disappointing that the result went against us as well.”
The dark clouds may hang over Firhill at present but Slater has his own silver lining after collecting the McCrea Financial Services Player of the Month award for November.
The 24-year-old has settled into life in red and yellow with ease this season and is determined to go from strength to strength for the Jags.
Slater said: “You can always do better and I want to help the team as much as I can. I work as hard as I can to put in performances on a Saturday.
“I would say there is more to come, I could score more goals, but I think I have done OK.